The Mess I Made
by WordsLikeStardust
Summary: S.H.I.E.L.D. Special Agent Eden Redding has been in the field for 2 years, tracking International terrorist Colin Delaney. When Delaney is recruited by HYDRA to orchestrate an attack in the States, Agent Redding must return to New York to warn Colonel Fury. Fury enlists the help of the Avengers to help S.H.I.E.L.D. stop this new threat to Homeland Security. Eventual Steve Rogers/OC
1. Welcome Home

_Author's Note: This is a first for me. Normally I stick to wrestling fanfiction so I'm stepping out of my comfort zone and delving into my love of the Marvel Universe. While I'm focusing primarily on the Avengers in this story, my first true Marvel love was X-Men, so you might recognize a few characters from the X-Men Comics. I tried not to use anyone already portrayed in the movies, barring Moira MacTaggart, because I needed her. Though in my story she is her original self, not an FBI agent as she was in X-Men: First Class. In this fic, she's the Doctor on Muir Island, in Scotland._

_My goal is to keep my OC as non Mary-Sue as possible. Therefore, while this fic will contain romance, it will be slow to unfold. There's an actual plot to this fic and I've spent plenty of time researching my plot to make sure this runs as smoothly as possible. I've certainly twisted several Marvel storylines to coincide with my story, but the movies don't run parallel to Marvel, so I figured it was my creative license to do so. _

_So with that said, happy reading. Reviews with your thoughts and even constructive criticism are appreciated!_

_~Kasey_

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**Summary: **S.H.I.E.L.D. Special Agent Eden Redding has been in Ireland for the past two years, tracking former IRA Captain and terrorist, Colin Delaney. When one of her contacts tips her off that Delaney has been recruited by the International terrorist group HYDRA, Eden must return to the States to warn Colonel Nick Fury and the rest of S.H.I.E.L.D. Knowing the super villains who make up HYDRA's New York branch, Fury enlists the Avengers to help stop the impending threat.

Captain America, aka Steve Rogers is relieved to be facing an enemy he knows this time around rather than aliens intent on taking over the planet. Using his knowledge from facing HYDRA in the past, he's prepared to lead his team in a crusade to bring them down a second time. However, while he tries to focus on the mission at hand, he can't help but be intrigued by Agent Redding and her almost desperate determination to bring Delaney down.

Unbeknownst to S.H.I.E.L.D. Eden's vendetta against Delaney became personal over her time in Ireland. Both have left their mark on the other and Eden knows when she faces off against Delaney this time around only one of them will walk away, the other will leave in a body bag. She's determined for it not to be her, so she'll need to pool all her resources and use everything she has to make sure she wins. The last thing she needed was to be distracted by the attraction she felt toward a Superhero who fought in World War II alongside her grandfather! So why couldn't she keep Steve Rogers out of her head?

**Disclaimer:** All characters, scenarios and themes belong to Marvel. I only claim ownership of Eden Redding and Colin Delaney.

**Rating: M** (Just to be on the safe side, there will be some swearing, sexual content, etc)

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**Prologue:**

_Belfast, Ireland_

In a dimly lit, seedy looking bar on the outskirts of the city, Eden Redding sat at a table tucked into the far corner. Her fingertips traced over some of the burn marks and scratches in the table's wooden surface, while her drink remained untouched before her, collecting condensation. Her jade green eyes flashed with impatience as she waited on her companion. She had already been waiting fifteen minutes and she had never been one for tardiness.

The information she waited on was crucial. If she had any chance of preventing what could be classified as a terrorist attack, she needed to move and move quickly. As n Special Agent for the Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division, better known as simply S.H.I.E.L.D. Eden had been in the field for the past two years, gathering information and watching the movements of her target very closely. She had hoped to bring him down before now, but the man was as slippery as a bar of soap. The tighter one squeezed, the faster he slipped from one's grasp. And if her sources were correct, he was now more dangerous than he had ever been before.

The chair across from her suddenly scraped noisily backwards across the floor, and a tall, rangy man in a black suit lowered himself haphazardly into it. He finger combed his dark hair off his face and stubbed out the last of his cigarette. "Been waiting long, Luv?" He drawled lazily, expelling the remaining smoke from his lungs.

"It's bad enough you asked me to meet you in this dive, Wisdom, you could at least be on time." She snapped irritably. "What do you know?"

"Easy now, Red." Pete Wisdom chuckled, dark eyes full of humor. "We're here aren't we? I should at least be able to order a drink before we get down to business." He signaled the bartender. "Scotch, neat and another round for the lady."

"I'm not interested in drinks, Wisdom. I'm interested in information. You said you had some for me, about Colin Delaney." Eden pressed. "I don't have much time. If he's done what I think he's done, I need to get word to my superiors."

He pulled another cigarette from the pack inside his jacket and with a brief flash of his fingertips, had it lit. "He'll be on a plane for New York in the morning. He met with Eric Williams tonight, Red. You know what that means."

"HYDRA." Eden's blood ran cold at the thought of the International terrorist group and she took her first swill of her drink. "Damn it. I had hoped not. This whole mission just became a clusterfuck."

"You got that right, I'm Black Air and even we don't tangle with HYDRA." Pete nodded in agreement. "I hope you're ready because you know what Delaney is capable on his own, add HYDRA's resources, you've pretty much labeled him public enemy number one."

"I need to call Colonel Fury and let him know right away." Eden knocked back the rest of her drink. "I'll probably be going back to the States." She added with telling look directed at him.

Pete smirked and puffed out smoke. "Well, that puts a damper on our side of fun then, doesn't it?" He reached over and squeezed her hand. "Don't cry over me too much, you promised not to fall in love with me."

"You're insufferable." She rolled her eyes. "Thank you, Pete, for everything, business and pleasure."

"Pleasure was all mine." He got to his feet when she rose. "Look me up if you're ever on my side of the world again and want more fun."

A small smile tugged at the corner's of her mouth. "I'll do that. Take care, Pete and do me a favor, get out of the Black Air. As informative as it's been, you deserve better."

"I'll work on it, Luv." He reached for her, pulling her tight against him. "Here's something to remember me by." He said before kissing her breathless. "Guess we'll have to wait to find out if there was ever anything more than heat here."

Eden stepped back, regaining her composure. "It's heat. I care for you, Wisdom, but I'm not in love with you. You're a hell of a man, but you have bad boy written all over you. I'll fall in love with the good guy in the end. You'll be one of my fondest memories."

She pulled on her coat and gave him one last smile. "I need to go help save the world. Stay safe, Pete Wisdom and wish me luck."

She turned on one dainty black heel and strode out of the bar with purpose, her mind already on the impending threat to her home, leaving the Black Air Operative gazing after her intrigued.

"Good luck, Eden Redding, my money's on you." Pete Wisdom chuckled to himself before ordering another scotch.

* * *

**Chapter One:**

_Stark Towers, New York City, New York, United States of America_

"Yes JARVIS?" Tony Stark sighed in exasperation and shot his girlfriend and now CEO of Stark Industries, Pepper Potts an annoyed look. He already knew what the interruption was this evening. Why was it that every time he had a moment alone with his woman S.H.I.E.L.D. was determined to interrupt.

"Agent Clint Barton aka Hawkeye has sent you an urgent message to report to S.H.I.E.L.D Central immediately. Apparently there is some kind of emergency." Jarvis's replied in a computerized British accent.

"Looks like the world's in danger again." Tony said resigned. "Can't these guys ever take a day off from trying to take over or destroy the world? It's really beginning to mess with my social life."

Pepper smiled giving him a light kiss in parting. "I have things to do anyway. Go save the world, I'll be here when you're finished."

Tony gave one last heavy sigh and nodded. "Right. JARVIS, suit up."

"Yes Sir."

* * *

_S.H.I.E.L.D Central, New York City_

"Have we had any luck getting word to Asgard?" Agent Natasha Romanoff entered the circular conference room, where a round table was placed in the center, S.H.I.E.L.D.'s logo proudly displayed on the center. "Is Thor on his way?" She asked, referring to the Norse God of Thunder.

"We actually didn't have to communicate that far." Agent Clint Barton had a smirk playing on his lips. "He was on Earth already, seems his brainy scientist girlfriend found a way to allow him to travel back and forth. He should be here shortly.

"That certainly makes things easier." Natasha allowed a smirk on her own to cross her face.

"I'll say," Colonel Nick Fury strode into the room with Captain Steve Rogers and Dr, Bruce Banner just behind him. "Which makes Stark the only late one, as usual."

"I'm not late." The man in question argued, entering the room shoulder to shoulder with the aforementioned God of Thunder. Both Tony and Thor were suited for battle. "So what's the crisis today?"

Fury gestured for the assembled team of Avengers to take a seat, before casting his one good eye in Steve's direction. "I believe you have the most experience here with the terrorist group known as HYDRA."

"HYDRA?" Steve repeated with a baffled look on his face. "I killed Johann Schmidt just before I crashed. He was the leader. Without Red Skull, HYDRA should have fallen like the Third Reich."

"It didn't fall, Steve." Natasha told him gently. "I've never dealt with HYDRA personally, but I've worked with people who have. There were plenty others willing to keep Red Skull's aspirations alive. There have been several terrorism attacks over the years."

"Las Vegas I believe was the last one hit." Clint nodded. "I was there when S.H.I.E.L.D. took out Kingpin. You shot him, yourself." He said to Fury.

"I did." Fury agreed with a cold nod. "It seems they've set up a new base right here in New York and they've acquired a leader that is extremely dangerous. We need to stop them before they attack the city."

"So we will go!" Thor slapped his palm against the surface on the table, causing it to tremble under his superior strength. "We will go to their headquarters, pull out their new leader and you can put him in a cell. Or we will kill him in battle."

"While I am all for Thunder's idea here,' Tony waved approvingly at Thor. "Do we know where their headquarters are?"

"No." Fury shook his head. "But we will find it. The man who recently became a member of HYDRA is known as Colin Delaney. I've had eyes on him over the past two years because I knew he was capable of something like this."

"Colin Delaney." Tony repeated with a thoughtful frown on his face. "Why do I know that name?"

"He was a Captain in the IRA." Bruce before Fury could. "Irish Republican Army." He clarified for Steve who had a blank look on his face. "He ah…is responsible for a lot of deaths. He's on Interpol's most wanted list."

"Well," Tony shrugged in resignation. "At least it's not an alien this time, or a God with an unhealthy case of sibling jealousy."

"The Agent I've had in charge of Delaney's reconnaissance is on her way back to New York now. She should be here within the hour. I'll have her brief you on everything she knows and then we'll get to work on finding them." Fury informed them. "Consider her a temporary member of the Avenger's Initiative. She's an excellent field agent and you won't find a better martial artist among you."

"Agent Redding." Clint chuckled, a relaxed expression crossing his normally stoic face. "If it's a she and a martial artist it's got to be her. She's the only girl I've ever seen with better hand to hand than Natasha."

"I'm still handier with weapons." Natasha retorted with a slight pout, but her eyes were bright. "It will be good to see her again, and work with her rather than fight her."

"My sentiment's exactly." A new voice added and all eyes turned to the door.

The woman stood no taller than five foot six, with a slender, athletic build underneath the low waist, boot cut jeans, form fitting black tank top and honey colored leather jacket. Tresses of wavy dark auburn hair fell to her shoulders and sharp green eyes assessed each person in the room. Her face was angular, pixie like and her mouth was set in a small smile. A faint scar could be seen, a jagged line starting at the base of her neck and over her collarbone, disappearing beneath her clothes.

"Agent Redding." Fury nodded to her in greeting. "I was just informing the team of our situation."

"Colonel Fury." She straightened and nodded back at him. "Agent Barton, Romanoff."

"Good to see you, Eden." Clint got to his feet to give her a brief, firm handshake. "Welcome home."

"Thank you." She glanced at the other members of the room. "Well, Ironman and Thor are easy to recognize, they're dressed for battle." She studied the man in trousers and a plaid button up shirt, with light brown hair touched with gray and glasses in front of his brown eyes. "You must be Dr, Banner."

"Yes." He nodded, dropping his gaze. "Nice to meet you."

"Likewise. I'm a fan of you work." Her gaze continued to the only other person in the room who sat farthest from her. Sandy blonde hair fell partially into his face, while clear cerulean blue eyes looked back at her shyly curious. He wore jeans and red shirt under a jacket similar in color to her own. "And my childhood hero sits right before me. Captain America."

"You've got an accent, Agent Redding." Tony commented, drawing her gaze back to the infamous Ironman. "It's faint but it's there. Irish?"

"Born in Boston, but I spent my formative years in Wales." Eden corrected with a genuine smile. "Very good, Mr. Stark."

"Call me Tony." He grinned playfully back at her.

"We don't have time for pleasantries, Stark." Fury interrupted firmly. "Agent Redding, the floor is yours."

"Right." She moved to where Fury stood, setting the briefcase she had been carrying on the table. Opening the case, she pulled out a small USB flash drive and plugged it in to the computer system.

A hallo graphed image appeared in the center of the table of a tall, thin man wearing dark clothing. His head was close shaved so his hair color was difficult to determine and his eyes appeared to be dark in color. Nothing about his image was alarming, but the scar that curved over his face from chin to cheekbone.

"This Colin Delaney." Eden announced. "He's a former IRA Captain, best known for his acts of terrorism. On record he's killed over five hundred people in his bombings and arson fires. Off record he's killed more. In the past two years he's been in Belfast, he's become a serial killer on top being a terrorist. He's expertly dodged Interpol and leaves no concrete evidence to tie to him to the murder charges. Just his signature."

"His signature?" Natasha repeated, lifted her eyebrows questioningly.

"His unique style on the killing." Eden explained. "He likes to be in up close. He'll use a gun, but not for the kill. Stabbing, directly in the heart is his preferred method. His weapon of choice is spear point switch blade. I was hoping he'd slip up, get arrested before HYDRA got a hold of him, but my contacts are insistent that he's met with Eric Williams and he's in New York now."

"Sounds like the kind of guy I'd want to take for drinks." Tony shook his head in mild disgust. "So what's his plan?"

"At this stage, I know Delaney almost as well as anyone and even I can't predict that. He's seemed to develop for a taste for more personal murder. But, in the IRA he was the brains behind a lot of fires and a lot of bombings. I imagine with HYDRA he'd go back to that kind of killing, unless they've hired him as an Assassin." Eden shrugged. "All I know is that he's in the States and it's not going to bode well for anyone."

"If he's alive it's not going to bode well for anyone." Clint corrected. "This guy needs to be locked up, or killed."

"Interpol doesn't have the resources we do." Eden told him. "Don't let his blood thirst fool you. This is an intelligent man. Sick, yes but intelligent. I used every resource I had and only one man could get me the intimate information I needed."

"I received your file on that individual." Fury commented, raising his eyebrows with a silent question.

"It was a precaution. Should S.H.I.E.L.D. ever take down his organization, they might show him some leniency for his help on this case." Eden replied coolly. "I would not have known about him being in New York this fast without his information. And I tried getting a man on the inside several times, Delaney always discovered them and killed them. I lost good agents, this was the only way I could keep a close eye on him."

"You've done well, Agent Redding. Your request for leniency on this individual will be taken into consideration should we ever apprehend him." Fury assured her. "Right now, our most pressing matter is to find the HYDRA base. We know what Delaney is capable of thanks to Agent Redding. I believe you all know about Eric Williams."

"Uh." Steve half raised his hand. "Been asleep for seventy years." He said uncomfortably. "I haven't caught up on people yet."

"I could use a refresher myself." Eden took pity on him. "For the past few years my focus has been on Delaney only."

"Take a seat, Agent Redding. I'll brief you all." Fury gestured to the empty chair on the other side of Steve.

Eden nodded and sat down beside Captain America, who gave her a shy and grateful smile. Eden returned it before catching Natasha's eye across the room. The Black Widow smirked at her before turning her attention back to Fury.

"Eric Williams." Fury began. "AKA, the Grim Reaper. He is called the Grim Reaper because his weapon of choice is a scythe that has been enhanced by powers of the Tessaract. A hit from this weapon is either fatal or coma-inducing, He is a prominent member of HYDRA, which he joined after the death of his brother Simon."

"Simon." Tony straightened at the name. "Simon Williams? Former CEO of Williams Innovations?"

"You knew him?" Natasha turned to Stark curiously.

"He was competition. Stark Industries was putting him under so he got desperate. He got caught embezzling money and was jailed. I was going to offer him a job and buy out his company before it went down." Tony explained. "How did he die?"

"He was poisoned by Dr. Heinrich Zemo, who wanted to use him to attack you, Tony. He tried copying the serum that made Steve who he is and wanted Simon as a test subject. Simon refused. He may have embezzled money, but his better nature won out." Fury informed him.

"Well…" Tony slumped in his chair. "Shit."

"It's not your fault." Bruce told him. "You couldn't have known, Tony. He died doing the right thing at least."

"Still, his brother is another story." Fury steered them back on subject. "Eric was born with sociopath tendencies. However, he did feel affection for his brother. As a child he burnt down his family home after being ignored by his parents who favored Simon. He became a gambler and moved to Las Vegas eventually, joining Maggia, which is a international crime syndicate."

"Even I've heard of Maggia." Steve commented with a pleased smile at knowing the subject matter. "They began in Europe during the World War. Controlled most of the illegal gambling and loan-sharking."

"They've added Narcotics trade since then." Eden informed him. "They came State side in the 90s."

"They're not that big on the East coast, the largest you'll find would be in Atlantic City." Clint added. "They have a lot more control in Las Vegas."

"When Eric left Maggia it was join HYDRA." Fury continued, nodding in approval at the team's knowledge. "Known members of his team include, Karl Kraus who was a double agent until we discovered he worked for HYDRA, Chameleon, AKA Dmitri Smerdyakov Kravinoff who has a talent for impersonating any person he chooses, Hardball, AKA Roger Brokeridge, who has the ability to shoot balls of energy from his hands and former S.H.I.E.L.D. Agent Carmilla Black, AKA Scorpion."

"Agent Black's compromised?" Eden jerked to attention at the news. "When?"

"About a year ago." Natasha told her with a trace of regret in her voice. "She left S.H.I.E.L.D. when she fell in love with Brokeridge."

"She is not your former partner anymore, Agent Redding." Fury stated firmly, leaving no room for argument. "She went rogue and she has murdered several agents in your absence. She is to be apprehended and brought to justice."

"I should have been here." Eden murmured softly so that only Steve, who sat beside her, heard it. "I could have stopped her. I could have talked to her."

Without thinking Steve reached over and squeezed her hand reassuringly. "It's not your fault." He said just as quietly. "You were doing your job, you couldn't have known."

Eden looked down at his large hand covering hers and returned the pressure on his fingers before he blushed crimson and withdrew his hand. Turning her attention back to Fury she asked, "So what's our plan of action?"

"We need more information on Delaney." Fury answered her. "You've spent two years profiling him as well as tracking him throughout the United Kingdom. I want your impressions as well as facts."

"Delaney's not one to attack long distance. He'll be close to where he plans his attack. He's vain enough to want to watch his destruction unfold. He'll want to hit somewhere highly populated and he'll create a follow up explosion to attack the first wave of responders who come in. That's his terrorism signature." She rubbed the back of her neck uncomfortably.

"So he not only kills, but the policemen, firemen and EMTs who come in to help get killed in the second wave of explosives." Clint shook his head in disgust. "I want to shoot him myself."

"Delaney's a sociopath who thrives on destruction and death. He's also a narcissist. We find him, we find where he plans to attack. Or vice versa." Eden continued. "And we should be on the look out for a distraction."

"Distraction?" Steve looked at her questioningly.

"Delaney will send members of his team to attack a different location, drawing our attention elsewhere so he can attack his real target." She explained to him. "Like I said before, he's a sick individual, but he's a smart one. There's a reason he hasn't been captured yet."

"So given what you know about the man, where would he be, Agent Redding?" Fury studied her with his one good eye.

Eden closed her eyes, thinking hard. "Some place large. He doesn't work well in small spaces, especially when he has people working for him. He need some place spacious, but where he'd still have privacy. He'd view most of his team as pawns, only trusting select few. My guess would be that he'd trust Williams, as Williams brought him into the fold. He has no connections in New York until now. My guess would be, wherever they're holed up, it would be through Williams, or one of his aliases not Delaney himself."

"Stark, Dr. Banner, I'll leave it to you to locate the HYDRA base. Look for any large buildings connected with Eric Williams or any of the aliases we have on file for him." Fury instructed. "Agents Redding, Romanoff and Barton, I want you in the field. Get contacts and keep an ear to the ground. Any rumor or shred of information regarding HYDRA or Delaney, I want brought to me, understood?"

"Yes Sir." Eden nodded in unison with Clint and Natasha.

"What about Thor and I?" Steve spoke up.

"Dress in civilian clothes. You may go into the field with Agents Barton, Romanoff and Redding. And Thor," Fury shot the God a look of exasperation. "Try not to draw attention to yourself."

"I can contain myself." Thor promised with an irritable look on his face.

"Good." Fury said gruffly. "Get to work."

* * *

_Okay, there you have it, the prologue and chapter one. Please, do give me a favor and let me know what you think. Like I said, this is my first fanfic outside my usual category, so consider me a noob. _

_Should I continue? Is it crap? Is Eden Redding okay as a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent OC? Be honest. I'm going to do my best to make this story as realistic and non Mary-Sueish as possible, so if it's even heading in the direction, please tell me! I'm already agonizing over her interactions with Steve and I haven't even really sparked their romance yet. _

_I'm extinguishing the flames from her affair with Wisdom first! :P lol I hope you guys don't mind his little insertions here and there. Originally he was going to just be in the prologue but I LOVE Pete haha and he just keeps coming back for brief moments in this fic. Though so far the prologue is his only in-person role. _

_Anyway, let me know what you think! Seriously! _


	2. Personal Vendetta

****_Wow! First off, thank you so much to everyone who read the first chapter, especially those who took the time to review,_ **HeirxxOxxMerlin, Jewelgirl04, TeamAmWolves, Guest** _and_ **flamingmarsh**. _You guys are awesome! I'm glad you like what you're reading so far and my OC seems to be okay as far as being non Mary-Sue. _

**HeirxxOfxxMerlin** _you think Wisdom's insertion could be interesting, I've officially decided to make it so because he is one of my favorite Marvel characters! So, while he may not be featured a lot in person in this fic, he'll still have his moments! :D_

**Jewelgirl04**, _Danielle I was so excited to see you had reviewed I squealed out loud! Thanks so much Love, it means a lot. I was nervous about branching out and it makes me feel so much better knowing you're reading! Feel free to copy and paste so that Danielle becomes Eden all you want. I won't fight you over Chris Evans. It's Chris Hemsworth that I want! lol. But I adore Thor/Jane so I'm not going to mess with them here. So, Captain America it is! _

**TeamAmWolves**, _thank you for mentioning the errors. I actually reread it after I posted and went back and changed the more obvious ones -_- that's what I get when I'm so excited I forget to reread for the fifth time. I double checked on this one lol. Hope this chapter doesn't disappoint and gives you more information that you're looking forward to!_

_That's all the important stuff! Happy Reading!_

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**Chapter Two: **

_McCaulley's Pub, New York City_

"I hate this dive." Eden muttered as she approached the entrance of McCaulley's Pub. "So many lowlifes and they don't serve one decent drink."

Natasha chuckled, matching strides with her fellow agent. "I hear you. Only place I know that can mess up a vodka tonic, but at least they have plenty of rats for us to make squeal."

"Only upside." Eden agreed with a dark smirk before yanking open the heavy wooden door. "Too bad we're limiting it to one particular rat tonight."

The smell of stale beer, body odor and mold immediately surrounded the two women as the door slammed closed behind them. Classic rock came in between bursts of static from the jukebox and drowned out the mindless chatter of the Pub's patrons. Both women immediately scanned faces, looking for a particular one.

"You see him?" Eden asked lowly, relieved when the crowd went back to what they were doing after giving both women a cursory once over. Two years ago when she had walked into this joint the regualrs had known her agenda and tended to either flee or take her down before she could begin asking questions. It had become more of an annoyance than a problem on her way to getting information. But, she had been away for a long time and most here seemed to have forgotten her and her more violent ways of getting information.

"Nope." Natasha shook her head, looking slightly disappointed. The Black Widow was itching for a good fight, even if that meant a brawl in a bar. "Looks like we're having that drink while we wait him out."

"Great.' Eden sighed heavily before they approached the bar. They each took seats on the stools at the far end in order to watch the entrance.

A thick, brawny bartender ambled over with a slight limp in his step. He flashed them a gap toothed grin. "What can I getcha, Ladies?"

Eden plastered a fake smile on her face. "Vodka tonic for my friend here and Disoronno on the rocks for me."

He nodded, giving each woman an approving glance over before he shuffled off to make their drinks.

Natasha waited a moment before speaking. "So, the contact in Ireland. What's the story? If he works for an opposing operation it's not like you to try for leniency. I've always known you to draw a line in the san and leave it there."

Eden smirked, her eyes dancing with amusement. "Natasha, are you fishing?"

"I'm curious." Natasha corrected with a sniff. "Must be something about him to make you vouch for him."

"If you want to know whether or not I took him as a lover, the answer is yes." Eden chuckled, the smile on her face fond. "Only because I don't think he'll be working for his superiors much longer. He's got a good heart underneath that whole bad boy exterior. And if you can look over the fact that he's an obnoxious, arrogant Toerag, well he's actually quite sexy."

"Is it serious?" Natasha glanced at her inquiringly. Eden was known for having brief, hot affairs with mysterious, handsome men, but she had never been in a committed relationship with one in the past few years the former Soviet spy had known her. She always ended things right before serious feelings got involved for either party.

"No." Eden shook her head. "I care about him, otherwise I wouldn't have slept with him. But, I'm not in love with him. He was a good companion overseas. It cut down on the loneliness. But, with the life we lead, it's tough to have a real romance. With Pete working more on the opposite side of the law, it's not even plausible at the moment. Sleeping with him was easy, actually making it work would be too complicated."

Natasha nodded in understanding, leaning back when their drinks were placed in front of them. "Especially on opposing sides." She commented with a far away expression on her own face. She understood what the other woman meant all too well as she had been in that situation herself.

"Isn't that why you jumped to our side?" Eden teased her lightly. "You and Clint together yet?"

For the first time in all the years she had known Natasha Romanoff, Eden was stunned to see the fearsome and unshakeable Black Widow blush. "After our battle against Loki and the Chituari where I almost lost him for good, we both decided pretending we were just colleagues wasn't enough. He told me he loved me and I couldn't lie and tell him I didn't feel the same."

"Good." Eden smiled genuinely. "My affection for Clint aside, I'm happy for you. You deserve to be happy Natasha and if he makes you happy, then don't let this life stop you. For all that we do, and what you guys specifically have done recently, we all need to be human once in awhile and the enjoy the happiness that's given to us."

Natasha laughed quietly, knowing as well as Eden that with the life they led, finding happiness was much harder than it was for the normal person. "Yes, we do. I hope you find yours too."

"Someday." Eden replied, looking up when the entrance door opened. "Fahey." She nodded in that direction, redirecting her fellow Agent's attention, her manner because all business in a matter of seconds.

Natasha took a hearty sip of her drink before sliding lithely to her feet. "Let the fun begin." All traces of her earlier camaraderie gone and was replaced by the cold, emotionless killer's mask that had earned her the alias of the Black Widow.

Eden's expression also changed to something more neutral in emotion and she followed her towards the man who approached the bar. She had dealt with him in the past and knew just where to hit in order to make him talk. He was a regular, though unwilling rat of hers.

He was slim reed of a man, with thin, receding black hair, greased back off a face only a mother could love. He stood a head shorter than Eden, who was an inch or two shorter than Natasha. He reeked of cheap cologne and was dressed in a loose Hawaiian shirt beneath a faux leather jacket and baggy camo pants. His laugh was loud and obnoxious as he slapped another patron on the back. Several irritable glances were thrown in his direction, but only the two women approached him.

"Jim Fahey." Natasha said his name once they were both standing behind him and within earshot.

"Who's asking?" Jim arrogantly asked, turning around with a cocky smirk on his face. His expression went slack and his skin paled when his beady black eyes met Eden's cool green ones.

"Hello Fahey," Eden stood with her feet shoulder width apart and her arms folded over her chest. "It's been awhile. You look like you're doing well."

"Heh, Eden, you're back." He squeaked out already flinching as though her first were about plow into his homely face. "I didn't know you were in New York." He lied poorly, eyes darting around for any escape route, like a rabbit cornered by a fox.

"Well of course I am." Eden said, her voice was mockingly pleasant. "You had to know I'd come home around the same time as our mutual friend, Fahey. And speaking of our mutual friend, why don't we go outside and have a chat, shall we?"

"And don't make us have a chat the hard way." Natasha added, though the light in her eyes indicated that she hoped for the opposite. "This furniture looks like it's on its last legs already."

"You wouldn't want to lose your welcome here now would you, Fahey? Because I don't think the owners of this fine establishment would appreciate us doing some damage on your account." Eden's smile was saccharinely sweet and she too looked eager at the idea of a good fight.

Fahey wanted just the opposite and sighed in defeat. "All right, just don't hit me."

"I knew we could resolve this without violence." Eden gripped Fahey's upper arm tightly. "Come on, Fahey, we have a lot to catch up on." Her voice remained cheerful as she steered him out of the pub, Natasha following in their wake. The sharp expression on the Black Widow's face kept anyone else from following them outside.

* * *

_Brooklyn, New York_

"This Agent Redding, you know her well?" Thor turned his attention to Clint as the three men headed down the sidewalk after leaving a different bar, though similar to the one the girls just left, where Clint had a couple informants, though none had any information for him tonight.

"I partnered with her on a few assignments when she first joined S.H.I.E.L.D. I was her handler when she first came in, like I was with Nastasha." Clint answered him with a nod. "She's got a good head on her shoulders. Fury made a good decision when he sent her to Ireland. She doesn't draw attention to herself and knows how to blend in. She excels in reconnaissance."

"And in battle?" Thor asked. "Is she good on the front line?"

"She may not have Natasha's skill with weapons, but she'd put even you on your ass in hand to hand." Clint smirked, amused by the thought of seeing the Norse God planted by a woman half his size. "Like I said, she has a good head on her shoulders and knows how to use it."

"She's sad." Steve added from behind them, his expression thoughtful. "Over her friend, the one who works for HYDRA now. She feels guilt over it."

"Eden and Carmilla were best friends." Clint sighed, he too disappointed over Carmilla jumping ship on them. Her handler, Derek Khanata had been a good friend of his before she killed him. "They went through basic training together. We often partnered with Agent Black and her handler, Agent Khanata before Eden was promoted and sent after Delaney. For security purposes, Eden had to cut off communication to everyone but Fury himself. She even had to go through an indirect channel to contact Fury. If Delaney had discovered her on his tail it would have been disastrous. She wasn't even aware of it happening when Agent Black jumped ship."

"She is not responsible for her friend's treachery." Thor's voice boomed with conviction. "She followed orders, her friend did not. She will accept as I did with Loki, there was nothing that could be done about the inherent evil inside them."

Steve sighed. "Even though there was nothing she could have done to prevent it, in her heart she'll still feels guilty over not looking out for her, protecting her. It's the nature of best friends." His mind flashed back briefly to James "Bucky" Barnes, his best friend from the forties who had fallen on a mission with him.

A buzzing sound suddenly interrupted the three men and Clint pulled out his vibrating cell phone. Reading Natasha on his caller ID, he immediately answered the phone. "What'd you find?"

"Delaney's indeed in New York." The Black Widow answered on the other end. "We don't have an exact location. But one of Eden's rats believes him to be somewhere in the Bronx with the rest of HYDRA. Stark and Banner should be able cross check and narrow it down from there."

"You found out more in an hour than we have." Clint told her, impressed by how quickly and efficiently the two women worked together. They had only known each other for a short time before Eden was promoted and sent to Ireland and Clint took over fully as Natasha's handler.

"Eden knows where and who to hit for information on Delaney." Natasha answered him and he could hear the grin in her voice. Knowing his girl the way he did, Clint could guess there had been a little violence involved in making the informant talk. "Fury wants us all back at Central unless you have another lead?"

"Nothing compared to what you found out." Clint replied, "We're on our way now."

"See you then." Natasha said before hanging up.

Both Thor and Steve looked at him expectantly. "Eden and Natasha got some information. An old informant of Eden's had enough information for Fury to call us back in. Let's go." He updated them.

* * *

_S.H.I.E.L.D Central, New York City, New York_

"The Bronx." Tony Stark repeated with an eye roll. "Got plenty of Irish neighborhoods there, I should have guessed as much."

Eden smirked at him. "I got more than just a general location out of him, Stark. I happened to be very good at what I do. I just thought you and Dr. Banner could do a cross check and narrow down the location from there."

"Oh, we'll find him, don't you worry." Tony smirked right back at her. "I happen to be very good at what I do." He threw back at her.

"Fury wants us in the briefing room." Eden said, glancing at Dr. Banner. "Ten minutes." She said before leaving the lab.

"You'll have to ignore, Stark. He's a former playboy and still thinks he's god's gift to women in some cases." Natasha commented when she rejoined her in the hallway.

"He doesn't bother me. Sometimes he's even charming. I worked with Pete for two years, at least Tony Stark has some manners." Eden matched strides with the other woman. "Are the others back yet?"

"The smashing downstairs indicates that Thor is here, so I assume the others are with him." Natasha hit the button for the elevator.

"Smashing?" Eden repeated questioningly as she too heard the crashing and banging sounds emanating from below their feet. If Natasha hadn't said something, she might have thought they were under attack of some sort.

"He's ticked off about the lack of protection sent to watch over the woman he's in love with." The Black Widow explained. "We have her in protective custody, but he feels she should be moved back to her home town in New Mexico, far away from New York City."

"Can't say I blame him for that." Eden stepped into the elevator once the doors slid open. "Love makes you do the wacky. My father was the same way with my mother before she died."

"I would lock Clint away sometimes if I could." Natasha agreed with a wistful expression. "But I'm fortunate he can handle himself."

They took a short ride down two floors before joining Thor, Clint and the Captain in the conference room. Natasha moved away from Eden to seat herself beside Clint, while Thor paced irritably on the far end of the room. Not wanting to face the wrath of a God, Eden chose to sit beside Steve and wait.

"He's smashed two computers already." Steve told her once she was seated, though his eyes did not leave their watchful post of the irritable Demigod. "He only calmed down when S.H.I.E.L.D. agreed to let his Asgardian friends watch over Jane for the duration."

Before she could comment, Colonel Fury strode purposefully into the room, his expression was aggravated. "Agent Redding, a message has been received for you from overseas."

"From who?" Eden asked, eyes wide and baffled by the news.

"A Peter Wisdom." He answered her gruffly. "He found a way to get this to you." He held up the flash drive. "However it has a four digit pin to unlock the file and we were unable to open it. We're hoping you know how."

Eden couldn't help but laugh, her heart warming. It was just like Pete to make sure what he sent wasn't intercepted and viewed before she could get a hold of it. She made a mental note to thank him. "He's clever. Put it in, Colonel, I'll be able to unlock it."

While Fury uploaded the file on the flash drive, Tony Stark and Dr. Banner joined them and Thor took a seat at last. A screen popped up hallo graphically, asking for a four digit pin number.

Eden smiled. "3-2-1-8." She told him confidently, using the keypad alphabet for the word 'heat'.

Moments later, the file unlocked itself and Pete Wisdom appeared on the table in front of them, smoking an ever present cigarette. "Hello Luv, I hope this gets to you in time. And I bloody well hope you figured out the pin to this file, should be obvious considering our last conversation and you never struck me as daft. By the way, I should kick your arse for cancelling your cell phone so I had to work hard to reach you, you inconsiderate Bird."

Eden laughed again, shaking her head in amusement. It was almost like he were in the room with her in that moment, she could even smell the stench of his cigarette. She had expected to miss him a little upon coming back to the States, but listening to him curse at her for cutting his main form of communication, made her aware of just how much he did mean to her.

"Anyway," Onscreen, Pete continued, done with his grousing for the moment, "I got some more information on Delaney since we last spoke and I wanted to get it to you and this seems like the only way how. It's bad news, Red. Delaney smuggled some seriously explosive material into the States, Luv, so he's back to his old tricks. My sources say he's planning a chemical explosion that will be detonated with nitroglycerin. You and I both know that's one hell of a blow. We don't know where exactly he plans to hit, but it'll be something big and a lot of people are going to die if you don't stop him."

Clint, Natasha, Tony, Bruce and Eden all cringed at the news. New York City had just finished cleaning up from it's attack by the Chituari aliens and hearing that Delaney planned to use the highly explosive chemical nitroglycerin in his impending attack was not encouraging news.

"Be careful out there Red, my money's on you." Pete winked into the camera that recorded his message, before his image clicked off as the file ended.

"We need to find out where he's going to target. Depending on the amount of nitroglycerin he has, he could level this city." Eden scrubbed a hand over her face worriedly.

"Nitroglycerin." Steve glanced at Fury. "I've heard of it, vaguely. How dangerous is it?"

"Nitroglycerin is chemical most commonly found in dynamite." Bruce opted to explain. "Energy from the initial decomposition causes a pressure wave or gradient that detonates the surrounding fuel. This causes a self-sustained shock wave that propagates through the explosive medium faster than the speed of sound and turns the fuel into a white hot gas. The heat it generates is about 9,000 degrees Fahrenheit. It's detonation would allow the gases to occupy more than 1,200 times its original volume at ordinary room temperature and pressure."

"Basically, it destroys everything in its path." Eden took pity on him and translated Dr. Banner's explanation into less scientific terms. "Mere drops of nitroglycerin would destroy this entire room. If he has a mass amount he could do some serious damage to New York City."

"Stark, Banner," Fury redirected his attention to them. "We need to find Delaney and quickly."

"So much for my weekend vacation. Man, I was thinking of going to the Bahamas too. Damn terrorists, always trying to blow shit up." Tony grumbled, getting to his feet. "Come on, Hulk, we've got some more lab time to put in."

Both men left the room to the return to the lab, while Fury addressed the rest of the team. "I suggest the rest of you get some sleep. I need you at full capacity."

Recognizing the dismissal, the remaining five members left the room and bid each other good night. Both Clint and Natasha headed for the elevator with Thor right behind them, leaving Eden and Steve to head down a parallel hallway towards where their quarters were located.

They walked in silence for several moments before Steve decided to break it. "You must think I'm some kind of moron, asking so many questions."

Eden looked at him startle by his comment. "No." She shook her head in denial. "I think anyone who had to sleep for seventy years and wake up in a world not their own has earned the right to ask as many questions as he wants. Besides, why would I think the man who I idolized my entire childhood was a moron? My grandfather fought with you in World War II and told me plenty of stories about your adventures when I was little. Meeting a childhood hero is probably one of the best parts about coming home."

"I still don't think of myself as a hero. I'm just a guy from Brooklyn who wanted to serve his country." He shook his head. "Dr. Erksine just made it a little easier for me than others."

"You don't get it, do you? How special you really are." She laughed lightly, shaking her head with incredulity. "Most guys who were given the powers you have would have used them more for personal gain; fame, fortune, women. You were selfless. You saved the world and your country and never thought twice about yourself. You're still doing that. You defended the world against an alien invasion with no thought of your own life. And you're here again, ready to help us take down an International terrorist who's basically issued a bomb threat."

"I don't like bullies, no matter what form they come in." He told her quietly. "I was always bullied as a kid. Now it's my turn to stand up to them. So yeah, I'm here."

"We're lucky to have you." She assured him. "And remember, you might have super powers Captain, but you're still like the rest of us. Each one of us has baggage we've picked up along the way. You may feel like it sometimes, but you're not alone, I promise you. Every member of your team has felt displaced, lonely and lost before. They understand you better than you think."

He stared back at her in surprise, unsure how to respond to her statement.

"Get some sleep, Captain, you look tired." She gave him one last parting smile and opened the door to her quarters, disappearing inside.

* * *

_Boar's Head Tavern, Bronx, New York_

While the Avengers had spent their day hunting him, the man they searched for ended his day with a pint of Guinness. The former IRA Captain, terrorist and serial killer, recently recruited by HYDRA, Colin Delaney was nursing his beer with a pleased smile on his crudely handsome face.

"She followed me here?" He glanced sideways at his companion. "She's got better resources than I thought."

"My spies tell me Agent Redding returned to S.H.I.E.L.D Central yesterday morning. She left Ireland only hours after you did." Karl Kraus nodded. "She even got information out of Jim Fahey before we got to him. He told her our general location. I put a bullet through his skull. She works quicker than I anticipated."

Delaney chuckled darkly at the news. "Fahey is vermin and needed to be disposed of. Now it's only a matter of time before she tracks me down."

"You don't seem concerned by that fact." Kraus commented on his flippant attitude.

"Agent Redding entertains me." Delaney took another sip of his beer. "I should have killed her a year ago." He traced his finger over the scar she had given him. "I will kill her this time around. I hope she finds me sooner rather than later. I could use some side entertainment before I blow half this city to smithereens."

"This isn't side entertainment." Kraus shook his head in disbelief. "She'll be coming after you with the entire force of S.H.I.E.L.D. behind her. This isn't the IRA anymore, Delaney. We need to move quickly and get this done before they find us. They outnumber us. Even the Grim Reaper wants us out of New York before the explosion."

"And miss front row seats to my greatest achievement yet?" Delaney snapped incredulously. "Are you mad? I'm not going anywhere. I will watch this whole thing go down and I will bring down Agent Redding personally."

"The Reaper is not going to like this." Kraus muttered.

"I don't give a damn what he likes." Delaney set down his glass with a forceful thud. "I was brought in to lead acts of terrorism for this team. We do this my way. In fact, I just got an idea." He smirked at the mere thought. "Bring me Hardball and Scorpion, Kraus. I've got a job for them."

* * *

_S.H.I.E.L.D. Central, New York City, New York_

Alone for the first time since she had arrived back in the States, Eden changed into more comfortable clothing, consisting of black yoga pants and a white tank top with the S.H.I.E.L.D. logo printed across the chest. She took a moment to brush her teeth and braid her hair back off her face before sitting down at her laptop.

It took her a few minutes to get her Skype connection up and running, but once it was, it didn't take long for another face to appear on her computer screen. The woman who looked back at her had her red hair, now laced through with gray, pulled back in a no nonsense chignon and wore a white lab coat over her equally prim clothing.

"Well Childe, this is a surprise." Dr. Moira MacTaggart's Scottish brogue resonated throughout her quarters. "You're back in the States? I didn't know ye left."

"I've only been back in the States a day, Moira." Eden assured her. "If it hadn't been an emergency calling me back I would have come to say goodbye to both you and Rahne. How's she doing by the way?"

"She's fine, also in the States as a matter of fact." Moira's smile was full of affection regarding the young teenage girl she had adopted with a genetic mutation that had her changing into a brown wolf. "An old friend of mine named Charles Xavier has school in upstate New York that fosters her special talents."

"Glad to hear it." Eden smiled at the news. She had grown fond of the shy teenager during her short stay on Muir Island last year. "I'm actually calling for a favor. I'm booked on this mission and need to rely on you to get a message relayed for me."

"Sure Childe, what can I do to help?" Moira nodded for her to continue.

"I need you to track down Pete Wisdom for me." Eden hid her smile, knowing the repugnance Moira had for him.

"Ye want me to voluntarily speak to that Sassenach?" Moira exclaimed incredulously. "Are ye mad?" She asked, her temper causing her brogue to thicken.

"Moira I wouldn't ask if I could get in touch with him myself." This time Eden did smile in amusement. "Please, do this for me? I'm hot on Delaney's trail and don't have the time to locate Wisdom."

Moira's expression turned to one of deep concern. "Ye be careful with Delaney, Childe. The last time ye faced him ye nearly lost ye life. If Wisdom hadn't brought ye to me, ye might have."

"He won't get that close ever again." Eden promised vehemently, green eyes flashing briefly with hatred before she calmed. "Just do me a favor and locate Wisdom. Have him contact me through your Skype account when you find him. Please Moira, I'll owe you another favor."

"All right, Childe. I'll find the bloody Sassenach and bring him here for ye, but I'm doing this only because ye asked." Moira shook her head in disgust. "Actually going to talk to Pete Wisdom on purpose, it's a cold day in hell."

Eden laughed as the connection closed, ending her conversation with Moira. But it was short lived as her hand came up to touch the scar she bore on her chest. Thanks to Moira's discretion, S.H.I.E.L.D. was unaware of her personal altercation with Delaney and how close she had come to losing her life. It had been one hell of a fight and each had left a mark on the other. She could grudgingly admit that had it not been for Pete Wisdom's untimely arrival and quick thinking, she might have bled out that night.

Eden got up from the small desk and approached the window looking out over New York City. She knew the next time she faced off with Delaney, only one of them would walk away. Delaney was not the type to surrender and spend the rest of his life in a cage. He would go out fighting and die before he was apprehended. And lying in a recovery room at Moira's lab on Muir Island, Eden had promised herself that next time she would be the one to kill Delaney, or die trying to bring him down.

If S.H.I.E.L.D. knew how personal her vendetta had become, they would yank her from the mission and reassign her elsewhere. It was unnecessarily risky for an agent to be personally involved in such an important case like this one. Moira and Pete had different views however and had concealed the altercation from her superiors. Her scar was written up as a result of a car accident, not the sharp point of Delaney's knife.

Perhaps that was why if the day ever came that S.H.I.E.L.D. arrested Wisdom, she would defend him. They may not be in love, but Pete had understood her better than anyone had in her life. Their similar upbringings, him saving her life and chemistry aside, they understood each other on the most basic of levels. He knew just as she did that this may be a mission for S.H.I.E.L.D. and the Avengers, but in the end it would come down to Eden versus Delaney and only one would walk away. Pete always said his money was on her, she hoped fervently that he hadn't taken losing gamble.

* * *

_Okay! Hope this sparks your interest. We have a better idea of what Delaney is up to, though he has something planned for the immediate future. Also we have a little more insight to Eden's personal vendetta with Delaney, as well as why she cares for Pete the way she does and the introduction of Dr. Moira MacTaggart. Did you guys also catch the X-Men references? Ha, I couldn't resist. _

_Do me a favor and review before you leave! I'd love your thoughts, opinions and any criticism that could help make this fic better!_


	3. The Clues Are in the History

_Special thanks to _**TeamAmWolves**_ for reviewing the last chapter! I'm so glad you're enjoying the story! I love your thoughts and opinion on Delaney's own attitude being his eventual undoing. You might be onto something there ;)_**  
**

_Happy Reading!_

* * *

**Chapter Three:**

_S.H.I.E.L.D. Central, New York City, New York_

A lot of things had changed in the seventy years he had been asleep, but the one thing that hadn't, was women. Women still confused the hell out of Captain Steve Rogers. As a shy, small asthmatic he'd never really interacted much with the opposite sex. Even after he was injected with the super serum he had been shy and wary of women, not knowing how to talk to them. And just when he thought he had finally found the right partner, fate had played a cruel trick on him and sent him to sleep for seventy years. After waking up and learning of what became of Margaret 'Peggy' Carter, Steve had decided that he just wasn't meant to have a relationship like his comrades. He was doomed to ponder the what if's of his romance with Peggy for the rest of his life. And then _she_ walked into the briefing room.

Her confidence, determination and intelligence combined with a no nonsense attitude had been so reminiscent of Peggy he'd been nearly blind sided. Then the differences assured him that she was not his former love reincarnate. Physically, they were very different. Peggy has been taller, curvier with brown eyes and dark brunette hair. Eden stood several inches shorter, with only the slightest of curves. Peggy's hair curled with the help of hair spray and styling instruments, Eden's did so naturally with no real style in mind and stopped at her shoulder blades. Eden's was also a deep red color, not as fiery as Natasha's but warm all the same. Peggy's skin had been tanned due to hours out in the sun, Eden's was as fair as porcelain, blemished only with the scar that curved over her collarbone. Steve couldn't remember Peggy having any scars that he'd seen. And Eden's eyes were green instead of brown, and changed hues depending on whatever emotion she was feeling at the time. It was a subtle trait he noticed when she was briefing them on Delaney.

Eden was also harder emotionally than Peggy had been. Where Peggy might have been prone to fits of temper, as demonstrated when she punched out a recruit the first day he met and when she shot at him through a haze of jealousy when he had been testing out his shield for the first time. Eden had a better handle on her emotions and didn't fall to the whims of what Tony called 'The Hysterical Female'. And still, she had been kind to him in the hallway last night, showing the heart she had beneath the cool S.H.I.E.L.D. agent exterior. And she had hurt upon the news of her former friend betraying them to join HYDRA. It made him wonder which was the real Eden Redding, the cool, composed agent, or the kind, caring woman who grew up hearing his stories and felt guilt for things not in her control.

And trying to figure out Eden Redding was the last thing he should be thinking about. There was a very real threat to Homeland Security and he had been placed in charge of a team of very volatile Superheroes, prone to fits of vigilantism if you were Ironman, lack of control in the case of the Hulk and occasionally a disregard for the chain of command in Thor. Hawkeye and Black Widow were the only ones who made his job a little easier with their ability to follow orders.

"Hel-lo!" Tony Stark waved his hand in front Steve's face, bringing him back to the present. "Anyone home in there, Capsicle? We need you back on planet Earth!"

Steve's brow furrowed irritably. "What is it, Stark?" For a brief moment he wished he was once again dealing with the father and not the son. While Tony possessed many of Howard's qualities, the elder Stark had always been more professional in matters of urgency.

"Hate to disrupt your daily broodfest, but I need to pick your ancient brain for a minute." Tony smirked, half trying to bait Steve into an argument for amusement purposes.

Steve had plenty of experience with bigger bullies than Stark, and merely lifted his eyebrows as a sign for the other man to continue.

Stark shrugged off the failed attempt for banter and sat down across from him. "I've been doing some research on this terrorist organization HYDRA. Despite my experience with selling weapons, I've never dealt with these guys and fortunately they've yet to get their hands on my weaponry. Anyway, HYDRA isn't actually an acronym but rather a reference to the mythical Lernaean Hydra, which is an ancient Greek mythological serpent with many heads."

"Cut one head off, two more take it's place." Steve nodded. "That was what the first HYDRA spy I took down said before he died."

"That's their motto, since they don't die off no matter how many times they're hit." Tony continued. "Their goal is world domination, which is why they fit right in with Hitler back your days."

"Schmidt wanted a fascist new world order, and used the guise of Hitler to get started. But he broke away from Hitler once he harnessed some of the Tessaract's power. He made all manner of weapons that the military hadn't seen before." Steve thought back to what was seventy years to Tony, and felt like only yesterday to him. "It took us awhile to come up with a proper defense system against him."

"And thanks to your somewhat eidetic memory from a quick glance at a map, you attacked and dismantled all of HYDRA's bases and turned the tide in the Allied Powers favor." Tony had brushed up on his historical facts. "You also captured Dr. Zola to get the location of the last HYDRA stronghold. You defeated Schmidt and then crashed into the artic, where you slept for seventy years."

Steve frowned at the flippant manner in which Tony described his last moments before waking up seventy years in the future. "Yeah, that's pretty much what happened."

"So here we are, seventy years later dealing with the same enemy, new leader, Delaney." Tony used his index finger and thumb to absently stroke his goatee. "You managed to take out all seven HYDRA bases with a small team back then. Who's to say history can't repeat itself, especially since your current team is more, shall we say, gifted."

"I put together a small team which were later called the Howling Commandos to lead the attacks on the HYDRA bases." Steve sighed, his mind reeling with images of Dum Dum Dugan, Gabe Jones, Jim Morita, James Falsworth and Jacques Dernier, who along with himself and Bucky had been the most instrumental in taking down HYDRA. It had been the first time in Steve's life where he had real friends, besides Bucky.

"Some thing's change and evolve over time, but the basics stay true to history." Tony's voice brought him back to their discussion. "I think there are probably seven HYDRA bases today, just as it was back then. We know of two. The Las Vegas branch, which Fury wiped out three years ago, and the one in New York. I'll put my money on there being five more across the globe. I'd bank on there being one in Russia and another in Iraq."

"I'm not sure where you're going with this, Stark." Steve told him with confusion written all over his face.

"You wouldn't because you're not a mathematical genius and innovative industrialist." Tony's smirked. "But, you have the knowledge of HYDRA's locations back in the 40s. I think there's a symmetrical equation here that will help me find the locations of the bases. If I recreate a map of Europe in the 1940s, can you show me the exact locations of the bases you took out?"

Steve nodded slowly. "Yeah, that I can do."

"Excellent." Tony got to his feet. "Follow me."

* * *

_Bronx Borough Courthouse, East 161__st__ Street, 3__rd__ and Brook Avenues, Bronx, New York City, New York_

The Bronx Borough Courthouse was built between 1905 and 1915. Four stories high, made out of granite and abandoned since 1977, it suited Delaney's purposes for the moment. He had arranged for the fourth floor to be for his personal use only, while the rest of HYDRA made use of the first three floors and basement. He looked forward to leaving the abandoned building behind and staying in a four star hotel when he was finished, but with Agent Redding on his trail, staying in a hotel, even under and alias would lead her straight to him. The bitch was smarter than he had previously given her credit for back in Ireland.

As was his habit when thinking about the S.H.I.E.L.D. agent, he brought one hand up to touch the scar adorning the right side of his face. No, soon he would have a final showdown with her, but not quite yet. He wasn't ready for the violent confrontation they both knew was coming. Still, it wouldn't hurt to have a chat with the pretty redhead who had marked him for life.

As if on cue, Karl Kraus entered the old court room he was currently using as a lab, flanked by HYDRA agents, Hardball and Scorpion. Delaney didn't call them by their codenames as a principle. He suffered no mutation brought about through genetics or experimentation and refused to give those who did greater meaning than the names they were born with. He co-operated this branch of HYDRA with Eric Williams and he didn't even call Williams by his alias. He would give no individual more power than he gave himself.

"Brokeridge, Black, right on time." Delaney addressed them without eye contact, choosing to turn his attention back explosives he was constructing. This slight snub reminded the two mutant agents who was really in charge.

"You asked to see us, Mr. Delaney." Hardball cleared his throat and shot a sideways glance at his lover, who looked none too pleased by being addressed with what she thought as her slave name.

"I did." Delaney nodded, lifting a test tube containing a sample of nitroglycerin and studying the clear liquid carefully. "I have an assignment for you. That is, if you think you can handle it."

"Of course, Sir." Hardball nodded while Scorpion remained silent, her expression akin to that of having swallowed something sour. "What do you need?"

Delaney looked over at the two agents then, letting gaze linger on Scorpion. "Special Agent Eden Redding." He smiled slightly. "I believe you know her, Agent Black."

Now Scorpion's eyes sparked with interest. "We were partners." She replied. "Before I became a part of HYDRA."

"Yes, I'm aware." Delaney turned his gaze back to the test tube. "I wish for you to get a message to her from me, without it being being picked up by any other members of her team. You'll need to get her alone. I trust you can manage that, Agent Black?"

Scorpion nodded, her eyes filled with a childlike delight at the challenge. "Absolutely Sir."

"Good." Delaney nodded in satisfaction. "I wish to speak to her myself. You are going to set it up for me. And remember, Agent Black, no one else from S.H.I.E.L.D. or this so called superhero team of Avengers is to be involved."

"Not a problem, Sir." Scorpion clasped her hands together and smirked. "I'll get it done."

* * *

_S.H.I.E.L.D. Central, New York City, New York_

Eden found Clint in the training area, shooting basic, ordinary arrows at moving targets. And she paused, not wanting to disturb his concentration. She had always admired his skill with bow and arrow. Clint Barton was arguably the best marksman in the world, and he had been her mentor when she first entered S.H.I.E.L.D.

Clint Barton had been born in small town, Iowa, but hadn't stayed there for long after losing both his parents at a young age in a car accident. He spent six years in an orphanage, before he ran away to join the Carson Carnival of Traveling Wonders. Clint had caught the eye of Jacques Duquesne, better known by his stage name of Swordsman, who took the youth on as an apprentice. It was Swordsman, with the help of fellow talent Buck Chisholm known to the audience as Trick Shot, who trained Clint into becoming a master archer.

By his late teens, Clint had honed his archery skills to become a star attraction dubbed "Hawkeye, the World's Greatest Marksmen". And in his twenties, during a show in New York, he was recruited by S.H.I.E.L.D. for his talent. Since joining S.H.I.E.L.D. he had become one of the best agents they had. Eden wasn't surprised that even with no super human powers, he was part of the new superhero team. And while she would never have the connection with him like the one he shared with Natasha, she knew him well and felt comfortable enough with him to ask him the questions that were weighing heavily on her mind.

Clint shot his last arrow, hitting his target dead center before he caught sight of her reflection in the glass behind it. He slid the bow over his shoulder and turned around to face her. "How long have you been standing there?"

"Long enough to see you're still the best shot I've even seen." Eden smiled tiredly at him. "Hard to catch you alone these days, though I'm happy to see you and Natasha are finally together."

"Yeah, took us long enough." He chuckled, his expression softening at the mention of his lover. "What's on your mind?"

"Clint," She leaned her left shoulder against the wall to support her weight. "What happened? With Carmilla?"

The smile vanished from Clint's face and he sighed heavily. "I assume you know why she originally joined S.H.I.E.L.D. ?"

"To find her birth mother." Eden nodded. "She was rumored to be a scientist for A.I.M." She said, refering to Advanced Idea Mechanics, a former terrorist syndicate of HYDRA's.

"Last year, she made contact with her mother, Dr. Monica Rappacinni and we used that connection to have Carmilla try to infiltrate A.I.M. It was her best mission so far, she captured a scientist and brought him here for interrogation. It looked like she was finally reaching her full potential."

"So what happened?" Eden asked, failing to see how his explanation would send her friend down a bad path.

"Her mother found out about her involvement with S.H.I.E.L.D." Clint shook his head in what could only be pity. "She captured Carmilla on their next visit and held her long enough to…experiment on her before we could rescue her."

"Experiment?" Eden repeated, eyes going wide with horror.

"She injected her with an experimental serum designed to make the subject immune to environmental toxins. Carmilla mutated beyond what they were originally expecting. It changed her entire body chemistry. She's now immune to most types of poisons, chemicals, gases, radiation and diseases. Her body can now also produce chemicals that range from deadly, to healing." Clint explained. "She killed Agent Khanata just by touching him. Her skin produced cyanide that she got into his bloodstream just grasping his arm."

"Oh my God." Eden covered her face with her hand, shaking her head in dismay. "Oh Carm."

"She blamed us for it." He sighed again. "We tried to cure her, but she wouldn't let us. She killed three more agents in her escape from Central. She met Hardball, who she fell in love with and joined HYDRA shortly after."

"God Clint." She removed her hand and blinked back the moisture that gathered in her eyes. "Why wasn't I contacted? I could have helped her. Talk to her somehow."

"She killed Derek, Eden." Clint reminded her with a pained expression. "You know as well as I do it was only a matter of time before they got together. After her mutation she became a different person. If he couldn't bring her back, you couldn't either. Besides, Delaney was more important in the big scheme of things, no matter how we feel personally."

She knew what Clint said was right. In matters of importance, Delaney ranked higher than Carmilla did. But her heart still ached for her former friend. Carmilla had suffered at the hands of her own mother, trying to do the right thing for S.H.I.E.L.D. and as a result, she had killed a man who had been in love with her long before this Hardball had come around. And if she was capable of killing Derek Khanata, then she was just as dead to them as he was.

The melancholy of the moment was broken when Natasha suddenly burst into the room. "We've got trouble." The Black Widow informed them and had them both jumping to attention.

"What's happened?" Eden asked her fellow agent.

"You need to see this for yourself." Natasha's expression was grim as she regarded Eden with eyes full of what looked like pity.

Eden exchanged a confused glanced with Clint before they both followed the Black Widow to the briefing room. The rest of the team were already assembled there, along with Colonel Fury who's expression was tight with strain. They all looked up at her as she entered the room.

"What's wrong?" She asked, a feeling of dread beginning to fill her.

"We have a hostage situation." Fury's voice took on that detached tone he used whenever he described a mission, keeping himself from getting emotionally involved. "Scorpion and Hardball have taken over a local youth center and are holding twenty to thirty kids captive, along with five adult coaches."

"Shit!" Eden gasped. "Is Delaney…"

"Not that we know of." Fury shook his head. "From what the police have gathered it's only Hardball, Scorpion and few low level HYDRA agents at the scene."

"So we suit up and take them out?" Tony suggested, as though it were the most obvious solution.

"Not in a hostage situation like this." Fury shook his head. "We go in guns blazing and some of those kids are going to get killed in the crossfire."

"So then what is our plan of action?" Thor demanded, looking just as disturbed at the idea of kids being held hostage and eager to rush headlong into action.

"The hostage negotiator has already made contact." Fury informed them. "They have only one demand. If the demand is met, they'll start letting some of the children go."

"What's the demand?" Clint voiced the question on everyone's mind.

"S.H.I.E.L.D. Special Agent Eden Redding." Fury sighed heavily. "They want you to go in…alone."

"What?" Tony exclaimed incredulously. "So what? They can kill her like a sitting duck? I like my idea so much better. Scrap that one!"

"They've promised no harm shall come to Agent Redding." Fury ignored Stark's exclamation. "They can't make the same promise about the kids if she's not sent in."

"What part of, these are the bad guys and they lie, are you forgetting?" Tony shook his head. "We need to handle this our way, now."

"I'll do it." Eden said quietly, but firmly, drawing everyone's attention. "This is Carmilla. She knows I'd never stand by with innocent children at stake. I can handle this. The most important thing is getting those kids out safely."

"Are you crazy? They're going to kill you and probably those kids too as soon as you walk in there!" Tony argued, frustration written clearly on his face. "No way!"

Eden shook her head. "She won't kill me. This is a mind game and has Delaney written all over it, he'll have instructed her not to kill me. If this is my choice Colonel I would like to go in and get those kids out."

"I don't like this anymore than you do, Stark." Fury told him resignedly. "But it's the safest way to get those kids out. We'll set up a signal and should something go wrong, we'll go in your way. Agent Redding, I suggest you arm yourself."

"Yes Sir." Eden nodded affirmatively.

"The rest of us will coordinate surveillance positions. Should Eden give the signal, we move in." Fury ordered the rest of the team.

Eden stood up and left the briefing room, returning to her quarters to change. She put on a black camisole to wear under the standard navy jumpsuit uniform given to all S.H.I.E.L.D. agents. The uniform was fitted to her body and she pulled on black knee high leather boots. She buckled her gun belt low on her hips and pulled her auburn hair back into a ponytail. Adding her final piece of equipment, a small earpiece designed by Tony Stark to keep in contact with the rest of her unit, she headed down to the garage where the rest of her team would be waiting by now.

Tony was already in his bright red Ironman suit, as was Thor in his armor and red cape. Natasha wore a uniform very similar to Eden's though her belt had a wider variety of weapons. Clint's uniform was black, modified to be sleeveless, complete with a quiver of trick arrows and bow over his shoulder. Bruce wore no uniform since everything he wore when his not so jolly green giant of an alter ego came out to play wound up being destroyed.

And there was Steve, in the blue suit that had been an inspiration in Eden's childhood. White silvery star on his chest, red boots and gauntlets and red and white abdominal plate, complete with a blue helmet with the capital letter A. He had been a symbol of hope for the Allied powers back in World War II and that had not changed today after he had to defended his country not just from foreign threats but other worldly.

Ever the leader, Steve called out instruction. "Hawkeye, Black Widow, you take the first bike and get into position, make no moves without touching base with me, got it?"

"Roger that." Clint nodded affirmative and led his girlfriend over to one of two motorcycles that waited in the garage. The machine snarled to life under Clint's hands and the couple roared out into the streets of New York.

"Thor, Ironman, you know where you need to be. No hijinks, Stark, I mean it." Steve gave the Ironman a firm look. "Get into position and make no move unless I tell you otherwise."

"I got it." Tony replied bitterly, his voice slightly distorted from suit he wore.

"Bruce, you're riding over with Fury and Hill. Do not, get angry unless we move in." Steve warned.

"I'll control myself." Bruce promised, heading towards the S.H.I.E.L.D. van that agent Maria Hill sat in the driver seat of with Fury sitting shotgun.

Thor and Ironman exchanged brief nods and with a whine of machinery and flash of light, both heroes were streaking through the air towards their destinations.

Steve finally turned to Eden, his mouth moving into a worried frown beneath his helmet. "You'll ride over with me." He gestured to the other motorcycle, which she noticed for the first time was painted red, white and blue to reflect the man who rode it. "Are you sure you want to do this?"

"I have to do this." She said assuredly. "Carmilla won't release the kids until I do."

He gave a short nod but didn't say anything else. He walked over to the bike and kicked the throttle to ignite the engine. The machine roared beneath him, louder than the bike Hawkeye and Black Widow had rode off on. He placed his legendary shield in front of the handlebars and sank down onto the seat. He glanced back at her expectantly and she obliged him, swinging her leg over the bike behind him and wrapping her arms securely around his waist.

"Let's do this." He was all Captain America in that moment, revving the engine right before stepping on the gas.

* * *

_Harlem Youth Recreational Center, Harlem, New York City, New York_

The HYRC, otherwise known as the Harlem Youth Recreational Center was chaotic when they arrived. NYPD had the building surrounded, there was a S.W.A.T. team on standby and the shouts, sirens and wails of terrified families made a cacophony of mayhem.

"Captain America!" A man, Hispanic in descent, pulled himself away from where he stood behind a squad car, radio still clutched in his hand. "We're glad you're here. There was a lot of relief when we saw Ironman and Thor fly over a few minutes ago. I'm Officer Jay Ruiz, Hostage Negotiator."

"Several S.H.I.E.L.D. units have been dispatched to help, Officer Ruiz." Steve was all business. "How many hostages are inside?"

"Twenty-eight, Sir. Twenty-three are children, the rest adults." Ruiz answered him. "We estimate there to be at least twelve UNSUBs inside, as well as the two ringleaders who identified themselves when we made contact."

"UNSUB?" Steve looked to Eden for clarification.

"Unidentified Subjects." She explained quietly. "It's police and FBI terminology."

Ruiz looked over Eden curiously and she took pity on him. "S.H.I.E.L.D. Special Agent Eden Redding, I'm the demand."

Ruiz's eyes widened in surprise. "We didn't think you would come?"

"Normally a hostage situation like this isn't cause for S.H.I.E.L.D.'s involvement, but your suspects are involved directly in a case we are working on." Eden explained curtly. "The Avenger's Initiative as well as the S.H.I.E.L.D. units being dispatched are taking over the negotiations Officer Ruiz. We ask that you and rest the officers be prepared to receive the hostages as they are released and keep the media out of the way."

"Yes Ma'am." He handed her his radio and moved off to inform the rest of the officers of the change in command.

Eden glanced up at Steve, nodding for him to take the next step.

"Report." Steve spoke into the intercom device Tony had built into his helmet while keeping his eyes trained on the front door leading into the building before them.

Eden's own earpiece hummed to life so that she was included in the rundown.

"I count two suspects moving by the side doors." Natasha's voice sounded clearly in her ear.

"Three." Hawkeye corrected. "There's a third by the window there."

"I count two guys in goofy green uniforms patrolling the back doors." Tony's voice was next to come over the line.

"There are three Sentries at post near the basement entrance." Thor's voice even boomed over an intercom device.

"Which means the rest should be guarding the front doors." Eden looked up at Steve again. "Show time."

"The code word is alien." Tony's voice sounded in her ear again. "Just shout alien and we'll come in."

"Alien?" Eden repeatedly, a bemused tone in her voice. "Really, Stark?"

"Hey! We fought aliens last time! I thought it fit." Tony retorted.

"We don't have time for this." Steve cut them off before it could turn into a full fledged argument. "Are you sure you want to do this?" He directed the question at Eden the last time.

She smiled nonchalantly at Steve and withdrew her firearm. "I'm sure." She gave him a final salute and began to weave her way through the officers and squad cars blocking her from the front entrance.

When she reached the front most squad car, she addressed the officer standing there with his weapon drawn. "Use your radio." She ordered. "Tell them Special Agent Eden Redding is coming in and to hold their fire."

The man looked alarmed at her announcement, but did as he was told. "HOLD YOUR FIRE! HOLD YOUR FIRE! SPECIAL AGENT EDEN REDDING IS APPROACHING THE BUILDING AND COMING IN! DO YOU COPY?"

Carmilla's high pitched voice came through the basic police scanners. "Well, well. I was beginning to wonder if she'd show up. Send her in! But just her! Anyone else and we start shooting kids!"

"Stand down, Officer." Eden told him. "I'll take it from here."

With her gun still drawn, Eden broke away from the safety of the police cars out into open territory. It was risky. Without the cover she was a sitting duck should one of the HYDRA agents want to take a shot at her. But Eden wasn't worried about being shot at, not outside at least. Carmilla would want her all the way inside, isolated from her team so she could toy with her before shooting her, if she so decided to. Still, Eden wasn't worried about Carmilla killing her either. If she was indeed working for Delaney, he would have ordered her not to be killed by anyone other than himself.

As she closed the distance between herself and the entrance, one of the steel doors opened just wide enough for her to slip inside. They had seen her approach and were ready for her.

"I really don't like this." Tony muttered over the intercom.

"Stand down, Stark." Eden placed her firearm back into it's holster and stepped towards the door with her hands held up in front of her. "I got this."

With one last deep breath, Eden looked behind her, eyes connecting with Steve's. She gave him a smile that was more confident than she actually felt and stepped fully inside the building, the door slamming shut behind her.

* * *

_Note: So, we learned some more stuff this chapter didn't we? We finally got a little peek inside Steve's head as he tries to figure out why he finds Eden so interesting? Perhaps because she's more elusive than Peggy was, but not as closed off as Natasha? Also, looks like our favorite billionaire is onto something in regards to finding Delaney's hideout! And Scorpion and Hardball are up to no good! What's in store next for our favorite band of super and no super heroes?_

_I also wanted to include a little interaction with Hawkeye and reveal the true nature of Carmilla Black, AKA Scorpion's jump to the dark side. In my version of the story, Eden Redding entered S.H.I.E.L.D. after graduating from the FBI Academy. She was recruited after displaying high marks on her aptitude tests and other exams, as well as a knack for criminal profiling. Upon joining __S.H.I.E.L.D. newly appointed Special Agent Clint Barton was assigned as her handler. Eden and Clint proved to be good partners and developed an easy friendship. Upon her promotion to Special Agent, it was Clint's recommendation that her skills in criminal profiling and reconnaissance would be the most effective in tracking Colin Delaney. So upon her promotion, she was assigned to the Delaney case and sent to Ireland. Around the same time, Clint has discovered Soviet Spy Natasha Romanoff, who he had originally been sent to kill, but instead he recruited her to become a __S.H.I.E.L.D. agent and became her handler once Eden was transferred. The rest as they say is history, in terms of Eden's relationship to Barton and Barton's romance with Natasha._

_____In Carmilla's description, I used most of the facts from her comic character. She was a former __S.H.I.E.L.D. agent and Derek Khanata was her handler, though in the marvel verse there was never anything romantic between them. I twisted some of the fact to flow better with my story, such as him being in love with her and her eventually killing him upon her turn to the dark side. She did join HYDRA and wind up becoming the lover of Hardball. Her mother was indeed a scientist for AIM and did experiment on her, but for the purposes of my fic Bruce Banner is NOT her father lol. Father will remain nameless in this fic. _

_______I just wanted to clarify in case there was any confusion. There was not and never will be anything more than friendship and student/teacher relationship between Clint and Eden. I adore the Hawkeye/Black Widow pairing, always have and would never mess with it the way Marvel does! -_- Eden's only romantic connections are Pete Wisdom (currently) and Steve Rogers (eventually). _


	4. Secrets

****_Thank you so much to_ **TeamAmWolves**_ for reviewing the last chapter! You rock!_

* * *

**Chapter Four:**

_Harlem Youth Recreational Center, Harlem, New York City, New York_

Once inside the Youth Center, Eden was immediately surrounded by seven HYDRA agents all pointing guns at her head. She kept her hands where they could be seen and didn't move when they removed her firearm and earpiece. She knew Tony would be cursing now that she had been relieved of her only form of outside communication. Satisfied that she had no other communication devices or weapons, they escorted her into the gym where Carmilla and Hardball waited, along with their hostages.

"Eden!" Carmilla's voice was cheerful as though she were seeing her old friend at a luncheon rather than surrounded by the children she was holding hostage. "So good to see you!"

"Wish I could say the same, Carm." Eden stopped at the center line on the floor, assuming her preferred stance; feet shoulder width apart, arms folded in front of her chest. "So I'm here. Why don't you let the kids go now?"

Carmilla tilted her head to the side thoughtfully and didn't respond right away. Eden took the moment to study her old friend. Carmilla's once sleek black hair now held a greenish hue to it. Even her skin looked like it had green pigmentation in the dim lights of the gymnasium. Unlike the agents, she didn't wear the traditional green uniform of her organization, but instead she wore a black cat suit that was cut to reveal her tiny midriff and had no sleeves, leaving the lethal skin there open to the touch. Right over her heart, the serpent insignia flashed gold, showing her allegiance to HYDRA.

"Always were right down to business." Carmilla laughed lightly, still acting as though the situation was not what it currently was. "Very well, let the kids and their coaches go. All but one. I need some kind of leverage to keep my old friend in line."

"You have me surrounded by seven agents, Scorpion." Eden said acidly. "Don't you think that's enough? That I know all about your new poisonous charms."

"Ah, so you've been briefed on my condition." Carmilla's voice lost it's cheerfulness. "Did they tell you they sent me in there, cover blown, and left me in there so my own mother could do this to me? I bet they left that part out of their report!"

Hardball grasped the arm of little oriental girl, who couldn't have been more than six years old, and dragged her whimpering to the bleachers behind where Carmilla stood. The other agents moved away from Eden to roughly escort the rest of the hostages outside. Eden didn't take her eyes off the little girl who looked back at her with tearful, frightened brown eyes.

"What do you want, Carm?" Eden regretfully looked away from the little girl and back at her old friend.

"Honestly, your attention." Carmilla pouted. "You've been away for two years and now you're finally back in the States and you didn't even think to come see me?"

"You're compromised." Eden's voice was cool. "You turned your back on everything with stood for, for him." She jerked her chin in the direction of Hardball. "He's not even that cute, Carm, why?"

Hardball snorted in indignation, but Eden and Carmilla both ignored him, eyes on each other.

"We don't all get asked out by gorgeous men like you do, Eden. I heard your British boyfriend's quite the fox." Carmilla smirked. "But unlike you, Roger here actually loves me. I found a man who loves me, and helped me embrace my true nature. S.H.I.E.L.D. held me back, HYDRA gives me freedom."

"So that's what this is about, jealousy because I had a few affairs and you didn't?" Eden snapped incredulously. "Carm, you had a man who loved you. I may have had a few men for companions, but you had a man who adored you for everything you were and loved in ways none of the men I dated could. Then you killed him."

Carmilla's expression froze at the mention of Derek Khanata and something akin to grief and guilt flashed through her dark orbs. "Derek was weak."

"Derek loved you." Eden said coldly. "He would have done anything for you. He led your rescue mission and you killed him for it. You never deserved him, or anything that S.H.I.E.L.D. has done for you. All you've done is given yourself a life sentence and brought shame on your superiors who did nothing but try to help you."

"They did this to me!" Carmilla shrieked. "They made me this way! They have no one to blame but themselves. My new boss is preferable to them. He has great ideas. Ideas that involve the end of you."

"Delaney." Eden's expression hardened.

"Yes, Delaney." Carmilla shot a loving look at her boyfriend before smirking at her old partner. "He asked me to get you alone so I could give you a message."

"So that's what this is about? This whole hostage situation is just to get me alone?" Eden asked. "You put lives in danger just to talk to me."

"Oh don't be so dramatic." Carmilla rolled her eyes. "We didn't kill anyone, not even those annoying police officers that surrounded the building."

Eden sighed and shook her head in disgust. "What's the message, Carm?"

"He wants to speak with you, in private." Carmilla eyed her with renewed interest. "You must have made quite an impression since he doesn't actually speak to anyone unless he's giving orders."

"I'm sure I left my mark." Eden was growing impatient.

"Anyway," Carmilla continued. "There's a nightclub here that has the same name as one in Belfast. He'll meet you there tomorrow night at eleven. He says you'll know the one."

There was suddenly a roar of helicopter blades whirling through the air outside. The sound grew louder indicating the machine was coming closer and fast.

"There's our ride." Carmilla glanced at her lover and nodded. "Babe, make sure my friend here doesn't follow us, will you?"

The far windows shattered in a shower of glass pieces and the noise of the helicopter was deafening. She could hear the panicked shouts from outside and the unmistakable boom of thunder that indicated Thor was no longer on the sidelines.

The frantic scream of the child Eden had almost forgotten was in the room caught her attention and she turned in time to see Hardball aiming one of his lethal energy balls right at her.

"NO!" Eden shouted, rushing the pair, taking no notice of Carmilla sprinting for the now shattered window.

Eden managed to tackle the girl to the ground at the last second. The was a flash of heat and enough force that ruffled her ponytail as the ball exploded through the wall beside them. Chunks of brick and plaster rained down from the impact, and would no doubt leave bruises where they struck. But Eden didn't move, using her own body to protect the now sobbing little girl beneath her.

She saw Hardball leap up to the window from the corner of her eye and grasp the black cable his girlfriend had used to make her escape and then they were both gone.

When the last of the debris had fallen, Eden moved, helping the little girl sit up. "You okay?" She critically looked her over for any visible injuries. Seeing none, she gently stroked a hand over her black hair. "It's all right, you're safe now."

The door to the gymnasium burst open as the S.W.A.T. team and S.H.I.E.L.D. agents came in with their weapons drawn. There was high-pitched whining and thruster noise as Ironman flew through the previously shattered window to land with a heavy clanking thud in front of where Eden sat with her arm around the still trembling oriental girl.

"Um…?" She smiled sheepishly up at gold face plate of his helmet. "Alien?"

"Ironman!" The little girl, tears forgotten, pointed excited up at him with eyes full of the unrepressed joy only a child could possess. "It's Ironman!"

Tony let out a disgruntled sound in Eden's direction before holding his metal encased arms out to the child. The little girl eagerly forgot all about Eden and clambered over to the superhero who lifted her up off the floor. There another whine and whirl of machinery as Tony restarted his thrusters, hovering several inches off the ground, much to her delight. With one last head jerk at Eden, he gave the little girl a thrill by slowly flying out the gymnasium doors to the front entrance, leaving her giggles echoing behind her.

"Agent Redding!" Agent Maria Hill who had come in with the S.W.A.T. team offered her hand and pulled Eden back to her feet. "Are you hurt?"

"No." Eden shook her head. "I'm fine. Are the other kids out?"

"Yes." Maria nodded. "The Avengers are rounding up the remaining twelve agents HYDRA left behind."

"Pawns to be sacrificed." Eden muttered, following Agent Hill out of the Youth Center and into the commotion taking place outside as children were united with their families and arrests were made on the remaining HYDRA agents.

Thor landed gracefully beside her. "Agent Redding, are you injured?"

"No, I'm fine. Did you get them all?" She smiled up at handsome blonde Demigod.

"They stood no chance against the Avengers." Thor said proudly. "Black Widow and Hawkeye waylaid five sentries. Ironman waylaid three and I waylaid the remaining four. The Captain escorted the children safely from the building."

"That's good, Thor. Good work." Eden said approvingly. "You guys kick ass."

"What happened inside, Agent Redding? Your com device stopped working." Thor asked imploringly.

"They took it from me. Carmilla didn't want anyone else listening in on what she had to say." Eden sighed. "I'll brief you all when we get back."

* * *

_S.H.I.E.L.D. Central, New York City, New York_

"Want a drink?" Natasha stood in the doorway of the kitchen holding a bottle of Jose Cuervo Gold tequila in one hand and two shot glasses in the other.

"I can't say no to an offer like that." Eden covered the ice cream she had been pity indulging herself with and placed it back in the freezer. "Tequila sounds like a much better way to feel numb."

"Good, then you can quit blaming yourself for what that bitch has become." Natasha fully came into the room, setting down the bottle with a loud clunk and sliding one of the shot glasses to her.

"Excuse me?" Eden gazed at the former Soviet spy, completely startled.

"She's a bitch." Natasha repeated without regret. "She has always has been, Eden, you just never saw it. You'd been with her too long. You forget, I'm the newbie. Before you were sent to Ireland, you were kicking ass and being promoted while she was struggling in basic field operations. You were having hot affairs with sexy men where she was too shy to say boo to one. She's always been jealous of you. I could see it, and so could Clint. Now you need to see it."

Eden kept her eyes on the golden liquid Natasha poured into both glasses. "She was my friend."

"No she wasn't. If she was, she never would have let her boy toy take a shot at you. The same way you wouldn't have been able to shoot her." Natasha shook her head, her fiery red hair swinging with the movement.

"Part of me just doesn't want to believe she's really my enemy now." Eden shook her head and threw back the shot, enjoying the burn as it made it's way down her throat.

"You've loved her. There's no shame in that. But you can't blame yourself for what she's become." Natasha, in a rare display of affection, reached over to squeeze her forearm gently. "People are who they are. You can't change it, only accept it."

"You're a good friend, Natasha." Eden toasted her with a second shot before tossing it to the back of her throat.

"Never really had friends until coming here." Natasha mused with a small smile. "Now I've got a team of them. Imagine that." She returned Eden's toast before taking her second shot. "Now, go get some sleep. You need it."

"Goodnight Natasha." Eden smiled at her. "And thanks."

"Anytime." The Black Widow replied, getting to her feet and leaving Eden to her thoughts.

Eden put the glasses and bottle away before leaving the kitchen area as well and returning to her quarters. Though she was physically exhausted, her mind wouldn't shut off. Between her confrontation with Carmilla and her impending meeting with Delaney, which she had not told her team about. One, they wouldn't approve and two, that would mean explaining why Delaney wanted to see her personally. She had come too far to back out now. She would just have to be sneaky when she went about going tomorrow night.

She entered her quarters and finally changed out of her S.H.I.E.L.D. jumpsuit and into her yoga pants from the night before and a clean t-shirt. She was about to crawl into bed and try the old counting sheep method of falling asleep when her laptop chimed to life.

Curious, Eden opened the computer and brought it out of hibernation mode. Moira's Skype program was trying to connect to hers and she eagerly accepted the request.

"You are a sight for sore eyes." She let out a breathless laugh once they had connected.

"What the bloody hell did I ever do to you that had you sending the witch doctor after me?" Pete Wisdom complained irritably in lieu of greeting. She could have kissed him for the blessed familiarity of it.

"I heard that Sassenach!" Moira indignant shout could be heard in the background.

"You were supposed to, you old bat!" Pete retorted over his shoulder before turning back around to give Eden his full attention. "Well, you got my attention, Luv. So much so that I'm here on this god forsaken island. What do you need?"

"My friend wants to meet with me." Eden said lowly, not trusting S.H.I.E.L.D. to not have her room and any others in the building bugged.

"Your friend?" Pete repeated, his expression assuring her he knew exactly whom she was talking about. "When?"

"Tomorrow night." She told him. "History's repeating. Same place as Belfast."

"That'll buy me enough time." Pete nodded, looking thoughtful.

"Time for what?" Eden asked confused at his comment.

"To get to New York, you twit." He said with a 'duh' expression on his face. "If you think I'm letting you do this alone you're barking mad."

"Pete, no!" She hissed. "You can't. The Black Air will be furious if you go AWOL, one and two, I'm ready this time. I can handle this. Trust me."

"I trust you, Red, I don't trust him. He nearly killed you last time. You don't remember it as clearly as I do, what with you fainting on me." He argued. "I thought I was going to lose you before I got you to Moira. I'm getting the first flight I can to New York. I'll handle Scicluna so that the Black Air stays out of it."

"Pete," Eden closed her eyes and thought carefully before opening them and speaking again. "You mean a lot to me okay? With Carmilla compromised, you're the closest friend I've got, the sex and the flirting aside. If you got hurt in my fight I'd never forgive myself or you. I'm so grateful for all the help you've given me. I couldn't have made it this far without you. But the last steps are mine to take. You know that."

"All right." He conceded with a heavy sigh, understanding but not liking her point. "I thought of something else. I was going to do it for you when I got to New York but since you're determined to leave me out of the final showdown, here it is. You need to go talk to an old contact of mine, the only one in the States I've got besides you. If you want to find where Delaney is hiding, this bloke will know or he'll find out. He's got rats all over that city, mostly because before he straightened out, he did some time."

"An ex-con." Eden ran a hand through her hair and huffed out a breath. "All right Wisdom, I'll trust you. Who is he and where can I find him?"

"You can find him in Harlem." Pete told her. "Just look for the hero for hire."

"What?" Eden gaped at Wisdom through the computer screen. "Did you just say hero for hire? What is he? A bounty hunter now?"

"Not quite." He laughed at her description. "Look, while he was in prison, some crackpot scientist tried to recreate the serum that made a certain guy on your team a super soldier." He explained. "He used my guy as his test subject and while the effects weren't the same, the results were that his strength is heightened and his skin is tough as armor. He uses his new skills to take on conventional criminals, thugs and pimps and the like. Nothing like what you and I deal with. But, he's always got his ear to the ground. It'll be worth a visit, Red, the faster you find Delaney, the better chance you have of bringing him down."

"All right, I'll go see him in the morning." Eden relented. "Does your hero for hire have a name?"

"Luke Cage." Pete answered her. "Just tell him I sent you and he'll help you out."

"Thanks Pete." She wrote down the name. "I'm going to owe you so many favors when this is all done."

"Put that animal in a cage or put him down and I'll consider us even." He told her. "You look tired, Luv, you should get some sleep."

"Is that a nice way of saying I look like hell?" Eden flashed him a weak smile.

"No, it's saying you look tired. I'll be on the island for another day or so, contact me here as soon as you're finished." He gave her a pointed expression. "Now go get some sleep."

"Goodnight Pete."

"Goodnight Red, my money's on you." He gave her one last cheeky wink before signing off, leaving Eden staring at the now black screen a moment longer.

"I hope you didn't bet too much money, Pete." She said quietly. "Cause that's a lot of pressure."

* * *

_Times Square Gem Theater, New York City, New York_

It took a little bit of research and a few phone calls, but Eden managed to track down Pete's so-called 'Hero for Hire' in Times Square, rather than Harlem. She had spun the first of many lies she'd be telling that day to leave Central without one of the other Avengers for company. As far as S.H.I.E.L.D. was concerned, she was having breakfast with distant cousin, not following the trail Pete Wisdom started for her.

The address she had been given for one Lucas Cage depicted that his offices were located above the Gem Theater in Times Square. Cross referencing to make sure it was indeed the Lucas she was looking for, Eden had set out on foot that morning to avoid the GPS tracking devices programmed into all S.H.I.E.L.D. vehicles giving away her exact location. Besides, driving in New York was often times more troublesome than walking.

Using the outside stairs on the side of the building, Eden headed up to meet with Luke Cage, hoping he was available. She was dressed in her civilian clothes for the day as not to draw attention to herself. She wore boot cut jeans, a white t-shirt and black fitted jacket, with her auburn hair loose and flowing over her shoulders. She looked like any other New York to passerby, not the special agent she was.

The sign on the door read "Luke Cage, Hero for Hire" and Eden twisted the knob to let herself inside. The man who sat behind the desk inside was large and built to muscular perfection. He was bald with a dark brown goatee the only sign of hair on his head. She wasn't sure if that was intentional or a side effect from the serum he had taken. Steve still had all his hair, so perhaps he wanted to appear that way.

He glanced up at her as she came in, noting that none of her clothes were designer, and eyed her dismissively. "Yeah?" He asked gruffly, not even bothering with the pretense of a greeting.

Eden's mouth reluctantly moved into a smile. "I can see immediately why Pete likes you."

"Pete?" A little more interested, he leaned forward. "Pete who?"

"Wisdom." She answered, crossing the room to stand opposite his desk. "He sent me to see you."

"Pete Wisdom." Luke sat back against his chair and pondered for a moment. "There's a name I haven't heard in awhile. How's the old bastard doing?"

"Slowly killing himself with those deathsticks he smokes, but otherwise he's fine." Not waiting for an invitation, she lowered into one of the chair opposite his desk. "I'm Special Agent Eden Redding, I work for S.H.I.E.L.D. Pete thought you might be able to help me on a case I'm working on. He's been assisting me."

"I didn't know Wisdom was back on the straight and narrow." He said surprised.

"Officially he's not. He's just been helping me." Eden amended her previous statement.

"Right." That made more sense to Luke. Eden was pretty enough, he could see why his friend was willing to help her. "So what can I do for you?"

"I'm looking for possible hideouts of a man named Colin Delaney. He's a terrorist from Ireland who's recently been recruited by HYDRA, a much larger international terrorist organization." Eden began to explain.

"I've heard of HYDRA." Luke assured her. "Delaney sounds familiar too."

"The information I've been able to gather claims they're here in New York, somewhere in the Bronx to be more specific." She continued. "Pete seems to think that some of your informants might know exactly where he is."

Luke stroked a hand over his chin and shrugged. "I can't tell you anything specific off the top of my head. I don't normally deal with terrorists. But I can do some digging as a favor to Pete. He helped me out of a jam back in the day."

"I'd appreciate that." Eden dug out her business card from her pocket and used his pen to write down a phone number on the back. "This is my personal number. I'd prefer you to contact me directly. My superiors aren't aware I'm meeting with you."

"Any particular reason why?" Luke took the offered card and eyed the woman curiously.

"My fight with Delaney is more personal than they know. I have to keep some things secret." She explained vaguely. "Call me if you find out anything." She said, getting back to her feet.

"Will do." Luke nodded. "Tell Pete I said hey, when you talk to him."

"I'll pass along the message." Eden headed for the door. "Thanks for your time." She called over her shoulder before heading back out into the bustle of New York City.

* * *

_S.H.I.E.L.D. Central, New York City, New York_

Tony took a step back and studied the two maps in front of him. On the right, was a digitally projected map of Europe as it was in 1942. Capital H's were placed strategically on the map depicting the precise locations of the HYDRA bases then, thanks to Steve Rogers memory and a little digging back into S.H.I.E.L.D.'s old files.

On the left was a global map of the world as it was today, showing both hemisphere's. Tony had already marked Las Vegas as the sight of one HYDRA base, with six more marks to go in unknown locations. His gut assured him that he was onto something. He just had to figure out the right equation using geometry and physics.

He glanced back at the map from World War II. The Axis powers controlled most of Europe in 1943, with the exception of neutral territories such as Ireland, Switzerland, Spain and Sweden and the Allies hold in Great Britian, the lower half of Italy and the newly joined Soviet Union. Steve discovered the first HYDRA stronghold by going after the 107th Army soldiers trapped there. It had been located twenty miles east of Kitzbuhel, Austria, thirty miles behind enemy lines where the Allies controlled the southern half of Italy.

HYDRA's Western and subsequently Southern most base had been in Salonika, Greece. While Tony knew the Western most base today would be somewhere in Russia, he would bet that the Southern most base would be in Egypt. He frowned thoughtfully, he guessed three bases would be in the U.S., one in Russia, one in Egypt and one in Iraq. Where the final base was, he pondered.

"So," Bruce spoke up from behind Tony. The other man had been trying to follow Tony's mental wavelength, and with the two maps in front of him, he was beginning to put the pieces together. "The first base was in Austria, which if I'm following you right, would be akin to present day Las Vegas."

"Correct." Tony nodded. "We also know there's a base here in New York City, which I would compare to the base in Gross-Rosen, Poland. Now, the one in Westerbork, Netherlands, just over the border of Germany, would be the final base in the U.S. Using a similar geometrical pattern to the one in the 40s, the final base would be…"

"Chicago." Bruce used a laser pen to point to the general direction of the city on the world map.

"Chicago." Tony's expression brightened and he brought up a third map of the United States, marking Las Vegas, Chicago and New York City with capital H's. "Brucey, I think we're onto something now!"

"Don't call me that." Bruce chastised absentmindedly, studying the world map again. "Now you think the base in Greece would mark one in Egypt?"

"Absolutely. HYDRA would want their foreign bases in countries that support Fascism. They took a big risk setting up branches in a democracy. Fascist countries would give them the opportunity to grown in strength and numbers because they wouldn't have to worry about the government discovering them and wiping them out like Las Vegas." Tony theorized. "Which is why I also believe the Western most base is somewhere in Russia, the mother country of Communism."

"I don't think there's a base in Iraq." Bruce argued. "We would have discovered it by now in the war. I think that base is in North Korea."

Tony looked to the Doctor startled, but couldn't help but think his thought had merit. "You know what, I think you're right. And it makes sense geometrically. Good work. That would put the Russian base in Vladivostok, and the Korean base in Hoeryong."

"And following that pattern, the one in Egypt would be roughly in Alexandria." Bruce readjusted the marks to their more precise locations. "So where's the seventh?"

Tony found himself stroking his goatee thoughtfully as he scrutinized all three maps. "In 1944, Captain Steve Rogers led the Howling Commandos into the final HYDRA stronghold where Johan Schmidt was hiding. The final stronghold was in the Swiss Alps, near Bern."

"Cuba." Bruce said finally. "The last base would be in Cuba. Makes sense, they used to have close ties with the Soviet Union. Cuban Missile crisis and all."

"Good thinking. Bruce." Tony nodded approvingly. "It's right in Havanna, those bastards."

"So now what? We're still no closer to finding Delaney's exact location just because we've theoretically located HYDRA bases." Bruce added the final H marker on the world map.

"Just because you specialize in science doesn't mean you can't understand mathematics, Bruce." Tony was smirking in what could be described as triumph. "There's a mathematical equation here that will give us Delaney's precise location. I just have to figure it out."

Tony's smartphone suddenly buzzed to life and the computerized voice of JARVIS emanated from the small device. "Sir, Agent Redding has left S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters and is on the move."

"Why must these things always happen when I'm in the middle of a breakthrough." Tony sighed in frustration. "Hold the fort, Bruce. I'll be back in awhile."

"Why are you tracking, Eden?" Bruce asked him curiously.

Tony glanced at his teammate. "Just a whim. This is the second time she's gone out today by herself. I want to know why. I'm noisy that way. See if you can expand on this, yeah?" He slipped on his coat and picked up his phone. "Jarvis, send her coordinates to the GPS system in my car would you?"

"Right away, Sir." JARVIS replied automatically.

"Okay, Eden Redding." Tony muttered to himself as he left a baffled Bruce behind in the lab. "Let's see what you're up to."

* * *

_Note: If you guys actually take the time to pinpoint all the locations on a map of Europe from 1943-1944 and then re pin the locations on a world map today, you'll find the geometric pattern similar, but not identical. My general idea was to enlarge the original locations over a world map rather than the locations in Europe, and yes I studied the map from Captain America The First Avenger very closely to get the locations correctly. I did a lot of research and couldn't make it match up identically while keeping present day locations in countries known for Communism, Fascism and Terrorism. Also, I know present day Russian is no longer Communist, but do you really think the Soviets are completely dead? I don't lol. Anyway, for my story's sake, please just go with it. In my mind I can picture Tony actually thinking of this theory and making it factual, and it sets me up for a sequel to this story if I want to write one._

_Also Lucas Cage aka Power Man, makes his cameo appearance in the fic. Luke actually helped Ironman and the Avengers on a few occasions in the comics and I wanted to use someone else from Marvel to be Pete's only other States contact! :)_


	5. Holding On and Letting Go

Chapter Five:

_Blackwater Inn, New York City, New York_

The bouncer that stood in front of the entrance to the Blackwater Inn, eyed Eden curiously as she skirted around the line of people waiting to get in and approached him directly. "Name?" He asked, holding up his clipboard that had a list of VIP names attached to it.

"I'm expected." She told him in a quiet, but firm tone. "Laoch." She murmured so only he could hear the Gaelic word for warrior.

The bouncer's eyes went blank, as though someone had dropped a veil over his emotions and he wordlessly opened the entrance door for her.

Steeling herself, Eden stepped inside the Irish Pub, recently turned nightclub in its popularity among the youth of New York City. The music was loud and pumping to encourage the mass of human bodies in the building to crowd any open space for dancing. She felt no such urge and began to navigate her way through the crowd of people, heading toward the back of the establishment where the VIP section would be located. She was bumped and jostled along the way, but she was so focused that she waved off the apologies without a backward glance.

Delaney's bodyguard, no doubt, stood statuesque as the base of the iron stairs that were cordoned off from the main dance floor. He was dressed from head to toe in black, but the silver chain around his neck that contain a Celtic patterned shamrock gave away his identity. He merely inclined his head toward the stairs when she approached him.

Taking the signal as a means to proceed, Eden gripped the iron handrail in her right hand and began her ascent to the open floor above. The music was less overwhelming above the main dance floor and she took note of the private sections ringed with velvet couches. Wealthy businessmen and the like occupied most of them, enjoying the company of scantily clad women and bottomless glasses of alcohol.

Eden headed towards the one farthest away from the staircase, where one man sat between two men dressed similar to the one at the base of the stairs, sipping from his glass and watching her approach with keen interest. She reached up underneath where her jacket concealed her weapon, assuring herself that it was there should she need it.

"Hello Delaney." She said coolly, stopping in front of the small circular table that served as a boundary between them.

"Ah, the lovely Eden. I was beginning to wonder if you'd join me tonight." Delaney's answering smile was lecherous. "Duncan, be a gentleman and get our lady friend here a drink. I believe Disoronno is her poison."

The man on Delaney's left stood silently and after her curt nod in response, made his way downstairs to the bar, leaving her alone with her greatest enemy and one of his bodyguards.

"Please Eden," Delaney moved over so he sat on the end of the semi-circular couch and gestured to the end opposite where he now sat. "Have a seat."

His other bodyguard took post behind where Delaney sat, so Eden cautiously took a seat opposite the man she had been pursuing for two years and had haunted her nightmares over the last one. "What do you want, Colin?"

"You." He said it so matter-of-factly one might have thought he were speaking of the weather.

Eden's heart jumped fearfully in her chest and her cool expression faltered before she regained her composure. Subtly so that her movement wasn't even noticed, she had her weapon in her hand and aimed at him beneath the table.

He smirked at her reaction. "Oh, not today, don't worry." He chuckled lightly. "But soon."

"So what's to stop me from taking a shot at you right now and ending this here?" She asked him, not taking her eyes off his brown ones.

"You'd never make it out of this club and you know it." He grinned at her question. "You can put down your weapon, Eden, there will be no violence tonight."

"Forgive me for not believing a man who killed his own mother for giving him a protestant middle name." Eden felt a flash of triumph when his smirk disappeared.

"That was never proven." All traces of amusement gone, he stared at her coldly. "Tell me, does Pete Wisdom know you're meeting me here tonight? After all, he's been so involved in our relationship."

Eden felt her blood run cold at the underlying threat in his eyes. "You go anywhere near him and I will end you in the most painful way possible."

Delaney's smirk returned at gaining the upper hand again. "I have no quarrel with BA Operative Wisdom. For the most part he remains innocent. My quarrel is with you. And make no mistake, I will take your life."

"We shall see." Eden replied with steel in her voice. "It's just as likely for me to take yours."

"History is doomed to repeat itself, Eden. We will face off against each other again, but this time only one of us will walk away. It will not be you." He smirked a second time. "You know, Honre De Balzac once said, most people of action are inclined to fatalism and most of thought believe in providence. Tell me, which are you?"

"I always preferred the quote, we are not satisfied and we will not be satisfied until justice rolls down like waters and righteousness like a mighty stream." A new voice interrupted, placing Eden's drink down in front of her and not so subtly pushing her over to take a seat.

"Martin Luther King Jr." Tony Stark added, toasting Delaney with his own drink. "By the way, your bodyguards suck. Where'd you find them? Meatheads 'R' Us?"

The man who had stood silent behind Delaney the duration took a step forward, but was halted when Tony held up his hand. "Not so fast, Hercules, unless you want to join your friends in the land of the unconscious."

"Who are you, and how did you get in here?" Delaney demanded, looking furious at the interruption.

"Buddy, this is New York City, this is my town and there ain't no party Tony Stark can't crash and get away with it." Playful manner gone, Tony glared back at the man across from him. "You should have stayed in the land of Leprechauns because you're out of your league here. She's got back up this time." He jerked his thumb at Eden. "And they're a hell of a lot more impressive than your wannabe men in blacks."

"I have the entire force of HYDRA behind me!" Delaney argued hotly. "I am not worried about you, Tony Stark, even if you fly around in an iron suit."

"I just helped save the world from a bunch of aliens trying to take over the planet." Tony rolled his eyes. "You are child's play in comparison. So here's what you're going to do, you and Brutus over there," He pointed at the bodyguard. "Are going to sit here, shut up and let Eden and I walk out of here. If you don't, I'll show you exactly what my iron suit can do."

Outmatched, Delaney was forced nod, though his eyes were livid. "This will be the only time you walk away from me unscathed, Tony Stark. Eden, until next time."

'Yeah, we're shaking in our boots." Tony took Eden's arm in a death grip and hauled her to her feet. "And don't worry, the next round's on me." He called over his shoulder before dragging a still thunderstruck Eden toward the iron staircase.

Halfway down the staircase, Eden regained her bearings. "Tony…"

"Shut up." Tony snapped at her tersely. "Wait until we're outside." He didn't loosen his grip on her arm until he had forcibly pulled her outside and they reached his car parked several blocks away from the club.

One button on his keypad had the passenger door of his Ferrari opening and he none to gently pushed her inside the vehicle, before hitting another button to close the door behind her. He climbed into the driver's seat and started the engine. He angrily shifted the car into gear and pulled out into the traffic.

"So are you stupid or do you just have a death wish?" He asked, punching the gas and taking a hard left at the next light. "Cause right now, I'm thinking the former."

"That's rich coming from a man who tends to ignore orders and is prone to fits of vigilantism." Eden argued defensively. "You of all people have no right to judge me."

"I can when you put yourself in suicide situations." He yelled. "What the hell were you thinking?"

"He organized the meeting! That was the whole point of the hostage situation last night." Eden looked away from him and out the window at the scenery that passed by in a blur.

"Well, you conveniently left that part out of your report, _Agent _Redding." He said the word agent as though it were an insult.

"You don't understand. You don't know the whole story." Eden shook her head, crossing her arms over her chest protectively.

"Then start talking." Tony eased off the gas. "You've seven minutes to explain before we reach Central."

"I can't."

"You can either tell me, or tell Fury, take your pick." Tony gave her the ultimatum. "Clock starts now."

Faced with choice of telling Tony, who could potentially still keep her secret or Fury, who would no doubt have her pulled from the mission, especially after her rogue behavior tonight, she realized she had only one option. With a resigned sigh, she turned to face Tony again and told him everything.

* * *

_Muir Island, Scotland_

"Luke." Pete Wisdom answered his cell phone impatiently. "Bout time you returned my calls you Cad!"

"Put a sock in it, Wisdom, I was doing some work for your girl, who's not answering her cell by the way." Luke Cage snapped back at him on the other line. "This Delaney is one bad Dude, man."

"Yeah, I know. I've been part of this case for two bloody years." Pete grunted. "Did you find anything?"

"Nothing. This guy has no paper trail and not a single one of my informants knows where he's holed up. I did a background check and this guy, he's sick." Luke sighed. "The amount of people he's killed, your girl better watch out."

"She knows." Pete glanced at his watch again and worried. She was with Delaney now and God only knew what was happening. "She's faced him before."

"And lived to tell the tale?" Luke said incredulously. "You sure know how to pick 'em, Pete. She must be tough as nails."

Pete laughed, but there was little humor in it. "She's something else all right. She was a wretched pain in the arse when I met her, never expected to care about the bird that's for bloody sure."

"Maybe you should marry her then?" Luke suggested, half joking.

"I ain't the marrying type, Cage, besides, she doesn't love me." Pete told him. "She cares, I care, but after this is all over, I have to step back from her because feelings are becoming one sided on my end. That's why I sent her to you, not just to help her in this case, but any more after. I think she'll stay in the States and it'll give me time to move on."

"Sorry about that, Buddy." Luke spoke sincerely. "Unrequited love sucks."

"Who am I kidding? My luck with women always sucks." Pete smirked, even though the other man couldn't see him. "Thanks for trying to help, Cage. I appreciate it."

"I'll keep digging." Luke promised. "Take care of yourself, Pete."

"Yeah, you too." Pete replied, before hanging up.

The Black Air Operative turned his thoughts back to the woman he was doing all this for. It was hard to believe that when he met her two years ago, the same woman he found so infuriating he had to resist the urge to choke her was now the same woman he was risking everything to help and protect. If Scicluna and the rest of the Black Air got wind of what he was up to in his spare time, the shit would hit the fan. Still, he didn't regret helping her, or anything that had happened between them.

He could still remember the first time he had kissed her. She had been threatening to shoot him and he was so furious with her his only options were to either kiss her, or throttle her.

"_You idiot!" Eden shouted, fury all over her face, her weapon aimed at his heart. "Are you trying to get me killed?" _

"_I'm trying to save your bloody life, you daft bird!" Pete roared back at her. "Put that damn thing down and shut up before they hear you!" _

"_Don't you tell me to shut up!" She retorted hotly. "I was doing just fine on my own. I had him in range. I could have taken the shot!" _

"_And alerted his friends that you were here. You're outnumbered ten to one, you bint. Those guys you have doing surveillance are wankers, the lot of them! They would have gotten you killed if I hadn't come in after you! Now put down the gun and let's get the hell out of here!" _

"_I'm not going anywhere with you!" She snapped. "You rude, impossible, arrogant Toerag!" _

"_I'm a rude, impossible, arrogant Toerag that just saved your ungrateful arse!" Pete reminded her, resisting the urge to bodily carry her from the building. "You should be thanking me!" _

"_I'm not going to…umpf!" Her eyes widened in surprise as he shoved aside her gun arm and covered her mouth with his._

Pete chuckled at the memory. He had pulled away from her when oxygen became an issue. She had slapped him for his actions, then jumped him seconds later. They had necked like horny teenagers on the rooftop of one of Delaney's esteemed associates, not caring that they were in a very dangerous location. He had barely had the sense to get them off that rooftop and to his apartment before clothing had been removed.

"Any word, Sassenach?" Moira's voice interrupted his thoughts and had him glancing at the laptop hopefully. The machine remained blank, meaning Eden had not tried to contact them yet.

"Not yet." He replied, running a hand through his black hair worriedly. "Come on, Red. You better be all right."

* * *

_S.H.I.E.L.D. Central, New York City, New York_

Steve Rogers hesitated outside the door, internally arguing with himself on whether or not he should knock. Tony had returned to Central an hour earlier with Eden, who had looked emotionally wrecked. She hadn't said a word to any of them, ignoring the curious looks she received from the others and retreated to her quarters. Tony had jerked his head in silent communication for the others to follow him outside the building.

The rest of the Avengers followed him out into the city where he led them to an all night coffee shop several blocks away from headquarters. There, Tony had filled in the rest of the team on his recent discoveries. He told them how he followed Eden to her clandestine meeting Colin Delaney, how Eden had finally told him her own secret, personal history with Delaney and how last year he had come so close to killing her. Tony then made them all promise not to mention this to Fury, who would pull Eden from the mission if he learned of her personal vendetta against their subject. He ended the conversation that since Eden was a temporary member of their team, the team as a whole needed to know the whole truth. S.H.I.E.L.D. did not. They had all solemnly agreed to that promise, all feeling worried and pity for the young woman.

Steve took one last deep breath and knocked lightly on her door. He wasn't sure what he wanted to say to her, only that he needed to say something in light of what he had just learned.

There were shuffling movements on the other side of the door before she opened it. He didn't speak for a moment, unnerved by her appearance. Her red hued hair was pulled back in a messy top knot and her eyes were red rimmed and a little swollen, a sure sign that she had been crying.

"Steve." She greeted him with a shaky voice.

"I'm sorry to disturb you so late." He said gently. "But, I wanted to make sure you were all right."

"Tony told you." She guessed with a watery smile. "I should have guessed."

"He thought that since we're a team, we should know." He shrugged sheepishly. "He's right. We're not going to tell Fury, but the rest of us need to know the whole truth if we're going to work together."

"Well, thank you for not telling Fury." She replied. "Though I don't think even he could stop me from going after Delaney at this point unless he had me locked up for disciplinary conduct."

"We all understand what you're going through better than you think." He assured her. "I know I've defied orders for personal reasons in the past. So has Thor and Tony's never been one to follow orders."

She chuckled. "That's for sure, Tony was the one who figured it all out."

"That's because he has no respect for people's privacy." Steve followed his urge and reached over to squeeze her shoulder. "In this case, I'm glad. I know you felt that your battle with Delaney was yours alone, but you're not alone. We've got your back. And I personally won't let him hurt you like he did before." He gaze dropped to the scar on her chest. "You can trust us. You can trust me."

She squeezed her eyes shut against the overwhelming gratitude she felt and when she opened them, they were shining with emotion. "Thank you." She breathed.

He dropped his hand and offered her a shy smile. 'Good night, Eden."

She returned his smile just as shyly. "Good night, Steve."

He turned and headed down the hall to his own quarters, his smile changing into a satisfied grin, while she stared after him in amazement.

* * *

_Muir Island, Scotland_

It was late when Moira's laptop finally came to life. As her skype screen opened up, Pete was dashing across the room to accept Eden's connection request. Only when her face appeared on the screen before him did he sigh in relief.

"Are you all right?" He asked worriedly, noting how exhausted she looked.

She smiled tiredly back at him. "Surprisingly, I'm fine."

"What happened?" He demanded, cursing the fact that she was so far away and he couldn't soothe away any of the hardships she had faced that night.

"He wanted to play mind games." She told him. "Basically telling me to my face that he was going to kill me."

"Bastard!" Pete cursed.

"But, he got put in his place tonight." Eden continued. "Tony Stark showed up."

"Wait," He looked at her in confusion. "I thought you didn't tell the team where you were going."

"I didn't." She said. "I'm actually kind of glad he didn't trust me enough and had me followed. He knocked out two of Delaney's guards and told Delaney that he was out of his league here in the States. Then we left before the rest of HYDRA showed up."

"Sounds like my kind of guy." Pete nodded approvingly.

"I told him, Pete. About everything, all of it." She confessed. "And he told the rest of the team, they know what's between me and Delaney now."

"Are they pulling you from the mission?!" He exclaimed, his gut tightening in fury at the thought.

"No." She assured him. "They're not telling Colonel Fury or anyone else from S.H.I.E.L.D. But the others know. Tony was right to tell them. They're going into this expecting me to watch their backs, they should know my motives as well."

"As long as they still have your back that's all I care about." Pete said quietly. "It sounds like you're in very good hands now."

"I think I am." She agreed with a thoughtful expression.

Pete stared at her image for a long moment, memorizing every detail of her face. Looking at her now, knowing that she wasn't alone anymore, he knew what he had to do, for his sake as much as hers. While he hated the very thought of it, especially in the middle of a mission he had been a part of for so long, but it was necessary. He would only wind up more hurt in the end and she would feel guilt and pity because of it.

He hadn't seen it coming or maybe he hadn't wanted to. His first thought when she had gone back to the States would be that she'd arrest him or kill him, get a new assignment and return to the United Kingdom. They could pick up right where they left off and he could worry less about her life being in danger with Delaney out of the picture. It was a foolish assumption. With her upbringing in Wales, he had thought being back in Britain would feel like home to her, but he could see now that while she was comfortable overseas, she was home now, in the States. She would close the case on Delaney and get assigned a new one. Maybe she'd come back to Britain, maybe she wouldn't, but she would not be coming back to him.

Oh she might have found her way back to his bed if she had returned, but she had been telling the truth when she had said there was only heat between them. Now that she was out of his reach to keep his libido from clouding his judgment, he understood just what she needed. It wasn't him.

Eden Redding had seem some dark days in her past two years in Ireland. Tracking, hunting and shadowing a man like Colin Delaney couldn't leave a person unaffected. She had come off that plane newly promoted to Special Agent from being a rookie and she had been green to the dark world Delaney lived in. And every agent she had tried to send in undercover and was killed, she took like someone had cut out her heart. That's why he had stepped in back then. He hadn't even liked her in those days. She had been an irritating, snotty little witch, but then Agent Dunaghan had been sent back in a body bag and she had fallen apart over him.

Pete could be a downright bastard when he wanted to be, but he wasn't heartless. So he began to ignore his orders from his own superiors and began to dog Eden's footsteps. Helping her out of this jam and that, bringing her information only a man with his less than lawful credentials could receive, and they had begun sleeping together. For him, being with her was a reminder that he was still human, he was still capable of caring about someone, despite his sins. It had changed into something less tangible and more serious over time. For her, he imagined it was to keep away the loneliness, and keep her grounded when her mission got dark and bleak.

But she had a team now, with at least one member who proved he had her back even when she didn't tell them her secrets. Pete could rest easy knowing that. He could do what he was about to do knowing that there was at least someone over there who would look after her, even when she didn't want to be looked after.

"Eden there's something I need to tell you." He said seriously.

"What is it?" Her face changed to one of concern.

"I'm leaving Muir Island tomorrow." He smiled wistfully. "I'll be out of reach for awhile. If you need more help, contact Luke okay? He'll do whatever you need him to."

"Pete, what's wrong?" She asked, an apprehensive look on her face.

"I need to distance myself from you, Eden Redding." Pete touched the screen as though by doing so he could actually touch her. "What started out as just heat between us is more for me. You don't know how worried I was for you tonight. It gave me too much time to think about what you really mean to me. And I know you don't feel the same. I don't deserve you anyway. You were right when you said you needed a good guy."

"Pete…" She started, but he cut her off with a shake of his head.

"For the first time in my life, I'm not going to be selfish." He continued. "I want you to be happy. Because after everything you've seen, everything you've been through, you deserve it. And as long as I'm who I am, I can't make you happy in the long run. I've accepted that."

"Pete," Her voice was soft and somber. "There will be someone you can make happy. You're too good of a man not to."

"I'll worry about her when I find her. I hope she's as big a pain in my arse as you are." He smiled teasingly at her. "I needed that kind of nagging from time to time."

She laughed sadly. "Pete, I do care about you."

"I know you do, Luv. And I can live with that. But I need some time to get over you." He assured her. "This Tony Stark sounds like he has your back, so I can walk away now and know I'm not leaving you alone. You're going to beat Delaney, Eden. You're going to kick his ass this time around. He won't even know what bloody hit him. And then you'll move on, continuing to make the world a better place. Our two years as lovers will become as you said, fond memories."

"Will I ever see or hear from you again?" She looked scared that his answer would be no.

"Of that, I have no doubt." He laughed. "I'll be seeing you, Eden, don't you worry."

She exhaled in relief and reached out to touch her own screen where his fingertips lay on his. "I wish things worked out differently."

"You won't, when you meet that guy you deserve." He smirked at her. "I'll reserve the right to kick his ass down the road, so you know."

Her laugh was rich and buoyant as she shook her head at him.

"You take care." His smirk turned into a sad smile. "Good luck out there, Red," He gave her one final cheeky wink. "My money's on you."

He heard the choked sound of her sob before he hastily disconnected from her, trying to keep his own composure. He sat there a moment longer, getting his emotions under control. Walking away from her would be one of the hardest things he'd ever do, but it was also the right thing to do. She inspired him to do the right thing more often than not and he wouldn't disappoint her now.

He got to his feet and turned to the leave the room, only to freeze at the sight of Moira leaning against the door jamb. From the look on the witch doctor's face, she had heard the whole thing.

"Never thought I'd see the day ye did the right thing, Sassenach." Her statement lacked it's usual insulting edge. "That was very unselfish of ye."

"I love her." He admitted finally. "But I don't deserve her."

"Not yet ye don't." She gently agreed. "But ye could do her the honor and become the man who does. She's always wanted better for ye. Ye'd be doing her no disgrace if ye tried to be better from here on out. Ye can start with getting out of the Black Air."

Pete smirked ruefully. "Easier said than done." He said. "But, I'll work on it."

"Good." Moira said approvingly. "I'll look after her for ye, Wisdom. Maybe in a few years time, things will change for the both of ye."

"Maybe." Pete nodded, moving past her. "But I won't hold my breath. Let me know the outcome of the Delaney case." He called over his shoulder before leaving the room.

* * *

_Note: Don't you just love how badass Tony is? He just waltzes right in on a very tense, clandestine meeting, insults the antagonists, grabs the girl and walks out unscathed. You gotta love him! Almost as much as you have to love Steve in this chapter too. Reassuring our heroine and giving her some form of comfort at the same time. _

_I know some of you have become quite fond of Pete Wisdom. I can't say I blame you since I love him very much myself. But, as good as he is and as helpful as he's been, he still works for the Black Air. As long as he and Eden remain on opposing sides, their relationship is doomed to fail. Besides, with everything Eden's been through in her trysts with Delaney, the last thing she needs is someone with even more baggage than she has. She needs the guy who's already good, to help shoulder some of the weight she carries, not the bad guy on his way to redemption. Steve Rogers is beginning to step up and be that guy from their interaction in this chapter. And with Pete gone, Eden will come to lean on him more as they continue. _

_Besides, Pete will find a girl who's an even bigger pain in the ass to him than Eden was, and she will get him to finally cross over to the good side and stay there! For those of you not brushed up on your X-Men history, that girl is Kitty Pryde, aka Shadowcat. I'm pondering ideas for a X-Men fic and right now I'm heavily leaning towards writing a fic that follows this version of Pete after he leaves Muir Island and begins his path to redemption up until he meets Kitty. What do you guys think of that idea? Anyone interested in reading that?_


	6. Crimson Snow

Chapter Six:

_S.H.I.E.L.D. Central, New York City, New York_

The punching bag in the training facility located in the basement of headquarters proved to be an excellent outlet for her emotions the following morning. Between her guilt over hurting Pete, her fear over her next confrontation with Delaney and the questions the other members of the Avengers might have for her, Eden hadn't woken up that morning feeling all that cheerful. Her stomach was twisted with fear, her heart ached like a bruise from guilt and there was tension in her neck that could bloom into a full scale headache if the team pressured her today.

The only logical solution to her problems was to work through it. And since there was no agenda that morning, she had resolved to workout instead. The treadmill had given her too much time to think, lifting weights didn't hold her interest for very long, and with no sparring partner, the punching bag had been the best alternative. So she taped up her hands and went to work, letting the harsh sounds of Nickelback coming through the stereo system fuel her rage.

She was in the middle of an impressive series of punches and jabs, timed perfect to the beat of 'Burn it to the Ground' when the volume of the music was suddenly turned down by several decibels. It caused a break in her concentration and had her looking over her shoulder to see who was awake and deciding to join her.

She couldn't say she was surprised to see him standing by the stereo controls. She figured it was only a matter of time, after the events of last night, before they had this conversation. "Music too loud for you?" She asked as an icebreaker.

"It's funny how when you come to me for explanations, I'm shooting arrows over there." He gestured to the archery station. "And when I come to you for explanations, you're beating on the punching bag."

"Guess we're destined to have our moments in the gym from now on." Eden quipped mildly sarcastic. "What do you want to know, Clint?"

He reached for the thick strap over her tank top and tugged it lightly to the side to get a closer look at the scar that marred her otherwise smooth skin. "He got that close?" He looked into her eyes questioningly.

She nodded slowly. "Yeah." She said quietly. "He got that close."

He released the strap of her shirt so that it fell loosely back into place. "His ass is mine." He said firmly, turning on his heel so he could storm out of the room.

She jumped forward and caught his wrist in her grasp. "No." She shook her head at him when he faced her again. "He's mine. He did this to me, Clint."

"You were my charge when you came into this organization. It was on my recommendation that you be sent over there, to even be on this mission." His eyes flashed with inner turmoil. "My recommendation nearly got you killed."

"No Clint." She tugged on his wrist until he looked at her again. "My own stupidity nearly got me killed. I wasn't ready last time and I was naïve enough to think I could take him down. I've smartened up since then. I know him better than I know myself. I'm ready for him this time."

"This is one of those things you need to take care of yourself, isn't it?" He asked ruefully, though there was a hint of a smile on his face.

"It really kind of is." She smiled back at him. "You don't have to feel responsible for me, or what happened, Clint. I'm so grateful that you trained me, and gave me the opportunity to go over there. I'll wear this scar as a reminder not to take anything for granted, and as a badge of honor because he did not beat me that day, nor will he beat me any day ever."

"You've grown up a lot from the rookie I had back then." He told her with a small smirk, but there was pride shining in his hazel orbs now. "You're not the same person."

"I had to. You couldn't protect me forever and as much as I hate to give him any credit, Delaney changed me. I'm not as bright or as bubbly as I was back then. I'm harder now, stronger." She took a step back, assured that he wasn't about to go on a killing rampage. "Perhaps that's better. At any rate, it'll give me courage and the strength that I'll need to stop him. And I will stop him. I promised myself I would when I woke up in a hospital bed with thirty stitches in my chest."

"I'll help you do it." He promised.

"I was hoping you would."

* * *

_Dining Area, S.H.I.E.L.D. Central_

"She didn't take off on another suicide mission, did she?" Bruce asked the question that was weighing on Steve's mind. "I mean, she wasn't in her room this morning."

"JARVIS would have told me if she left the building." Tony replied nonchalantly, taking a deep sip of his coffee. "She's still here."

"Should we assemble a search for her?" Thor suggested, setting his coffee aside and ready to spring into action.

"No." Tony shook his head in a quick, sharp denial of the Thunder God's suggestion. "She probably just wanted some alone time. It's a girl thing. They have their moods."

"Ahem." Natasha softly cleared her throat and shot Tony a pointed look.

"No offense, Nat, just stating an opinion." Tony added with an apologetic look in the Black Widow's direction.

"She probably just needed some space to breathe." Steve said quietly, though it was loud enough to get the other's attention. "She was sad last night. I checked on her after you talked to us. I think this entire thing is a bigger burden on her than we can imagine."

"When you're that close to death," Tony absently laid his hand over where the arc reactor rested in his chest. "It changes you. You should know Steve, don't you feel different now than you did seventy years ago."

"I don't think it's the same thing." Steve replied. "Obviously I changed. I woke up seventy years in the future."

"But weren't you disorientated, frightened and out of sorts when you first woke up after being that close to slipping away for good?" Tony asked him. "I was. I was downright pissed off that I was so close to dying."

"I just promised myself that I'd never give him the chance to that close ever again." Eden's voice sounded from behind them. "I promised that the next time we faced off, I would end him."

All five sets of eyes stared at her from the table. Bruce had the sense to look a little bit sheepish for being caught talking about her, while Natasha's expression was unreadable. Thor's cerulean gaze was a mix of curiosity and sympathy and Tony seemed to be looking at her with a newfound respect. Only Steve's expression belied true concern as he looked at her.

Clint grunted to break the almost tense silence that had fallen after her statement and squeezed around Eden to enter the room. He glanced back at Eden and nodded his head in the direction of the table as a request for her to take a seat.

She exhaled and chose to sit between Steve and Thor. "So I'm guessing you all have questions." She stated casually, reaching for the plate of breakfast food in front of her and choosing a strawberry scone. She murmured a quiet thanks when Clint passed her a mug of coffee.

"What exactly happened?" Natasha used her fork to point to the scar on her friend's chest. "How was he able to get that close?"

"Bad luck and sheer stupidity on my part." Eden tugged the strap of her tank top up self-consciously. "It wasn't meant to go down the way it did, but once our cover was blown I had the choice of fight or flight. I was cocky and foolish, I thought I could take him."

* * *

_Flashback, December 2010_

_Amidst the cheerful sounds of Christmas carols, holiday shoppers and light snow fall, Eden Redding moved through the back alleys of Belfast like a specter, clinging to the shadows for cover. Her .40 Beretta was out of it's holster and gripped firmly in her hand. She had removed the safety and her index finger hovered over the trigger. _

_Behind her, Agent Aidan Gallagher covered her flank, his own firearm out as they closed the distance between them and the old warehouse that had formerly been used for ship making. Tonight, it was being used for illegal arms dealing and would soon be the site of a bust, since Eden's fellow agents were closing in on opposite sides of the warehouse as well. _

_They were about to apprehend Thomas O'Toole, a former member of the IRA and known associate of Colin Delaney. Eden and her team had been tracking O'Toole for weeks, coordinating plans for the bust. If the mission was a success, Eden would have one of Delaney's top guys in custody and would be able to interrogate O'Toole on one of Ireland's most dangerous criminals. If all went as planned she could potentially be leading into an arrest on Delaney as well if O'Toole could provide the evidence she needed. _

_Twenty yards from the entrance to the building, Eden ducked behind an old dumpster and waited for Aidan to drop in right behind her. She adjusted her earpiece and contacted the other members of her team. _

"_Agent Connolly, Benson and Rourke, report?" She kept her voice low. _

_Agent Connolly answered first. "Callahan and I are in position on the docks. I count at least three suspects by the entrance. They're armed, but it's low caliber. They appear to be having a smoke break. Over."_

"_Copy that, there are two more suspects by the west entrance." Agent Rourke's voice came over the com device. "Also armed, standard issue handguns from the looks of it. Want me to take them out? Over." _

"_Hold your fire, Rourke." Eden ordered firmly. Kyle Rourke was the youngest member of the team, who constantly had the urge to prove himself. "Stay in position. Don't move until I give the command. Do you copy?" _

"_Roger that." He replied in resignation._

_Eden rolled her eyes in exasperation at Aidan, who grinned back at her in response. Aidan Gallagher was her right hand man since the murder of Brian Dunaghan. He had stepped up to the plate flawlessly as second in command and had taken Rourke under his wing to keep him out of trouble. _

"_Agent Benson." Eden refocused on the mission. "Do you copy? What's your twenty? Over." _

_She waited a beat but only silence answered her. "Agent Benson, do you copy? Over." _

_Again, no response._

_A feeling of dread began to fill Eden's belly and the next look she shot Aidan was worried. His expression had changed to something more grim as well. Darcy Benson was normally the first to respond on a report. She followed command without hesitation, the definition of a soldier. _

_She was about to contact her for a third time, when a panicked voice sounded in her ear. "Man down! Man down! Shit! Agent Benson's down! " The young voice of Agent McDermott came over the line. He had been watching Agent Benson's flank where they should have been coming in from the South. "They were ready for us. Shit! I need back up!" There was the sound of distant gunfire followed by McDermott's return fire. _

"_Team, move in!" Eden commanded. "Get to the South coordinates, Agent McDermott's requesting back up!"_

"_Roger that!" Agent Rourke answered her immediately and she knew the young agent would move quickly and a little recklessly. _

"_We copy!" Connolly responded seconds later. _

_Eden looked back at Aidan and nodded. Both Agents left the cover of the dumpster at the same time, moving into the open. Two shots rang out coming from the direction of the warehouse and barely missed them as they moved forward. Instinctive training took over and Eden fired a return shot toward the far window. The pained scream assured her that she had not missed her target. _

"_Down!" Aidan tackled her into the snow just as another enemy shot was fired right over their heads. Her fellow agent straightened and took his shot, eliciting another shout as he too hit his target. "Let's move." He dragged her back to her feet and propelled her forward. _

_They took cover behind a set of crates and exchanged worried looks. "They knew we were coming." She rasped out. "They were ready for us. How?" _

"_Mole." Aidan said tersely. "It's the only way. They got tipped off. No one else knew about this mission." _

"_Damn it, who?" Eden cursed, knowing his guess was the only logical explanation. _

"_Call off the move to the South entrance." Aidan told her pointedly. _

"_You think McDermott?" Her eyes widened before she was speaking directly into her com device. "Team stand down! Abort move to the South entrance! Abort! Move in to your original points!" _

_Connolly's voice answered her first. "McDermott's a double Agent!" He shouted. "He just shot Rourke! Rourke is down! Callahan's got him, we're retreating."_

"_Is he alive?" Eden asked anxiously. _

"_He's breathing still. He needs medical attention!" Connelly replied. _

"_Get him out of there, Connolly. Abort the mission, I repeat, abort!" She locked eyes with Aidan who looked just as worried as she did. "Get out of there!" _

"_We copy! We're almost back at the boat!" Connolly informed her. _

"_Good." Eden spared a glance over the top of the crates and paled. "Oh fuck Aidan, oh fuck!" _

"_What?" He turned to see what she was looking at and saw the men that were emerging from the doors, eyes landing on one in particular. "Bloody hell!" _

"_Take him out if you've got the shot!" Eden commanded tonelessly. _

"_I don't. I've got the guard in front of him, but if I fire I give us away." Aidan's eyes were hard, his expression determined as he took aim. "We going to shoot our way out of this, or try to run?"_

_Whenever she thought of Aidan Gallagher after this moment, she would always remember the way he looked then; fierce, ready and heroically brave. She twisted to line up her own shot at the nearest man to where they hid. "If we run, they're going to shoot us down like animals." She said quietly. "We'll shoot our way out of this one, together." _

_Aidan smirked, liking her answer. He was a warrior, through and through, never backing down from a fight. "I'm going to take the shot, in one…two…three!" _

_He fired his weapon at the same time she fired hers. Both bodyguards dropped from direct hits and had the other six, including the infamous Colin Delaney aiming for the crates where they had taken covers. The wooden boards splintered on impact of the bullets, but Eden and Aidan barely flinched. They each took second shots, dropping two more and forcing their targets to take cover. _

_Delaney and O'Toole took refuge behind an old sedan that had seen better days and the air between them was filled with tension. From the South corner of the warehouse, McDermott and two other hitmen for Delaney's crew moved into position behind a set of trash cans. _

"_There's only two of them!" McDermott shouted over to Delaney and O'Toole. "The other three agents managed to escape via boat. I shot down the other one!" _

"_Kill them!" Delaney ordered mercilessly. _

_Another bullet burst through the crates between Eden and her partner and she cursed out loud. Their cover wasn't going to hold up against many more bullets. "Aidan…"_

_He fired another shot, smirking when one of the men with McDermott went down. "I know." He told her tightly. "We're going to be sitting ducks shortly." _

"_I shouldn't have sent off Connelly and Callahan." Eden muttered. "We need back up." _

"_You did the right thing." Aidan assured her tersely. "Rourke was injured. He might've died if you hadn't made the call. We can do this, Redding, you and me. Just breathe and fire." _

_In that moment, he reminded her so much of her first partner and teacher, Clint Barton, that she believed him. The sure way he had spoken, had her redirecting her attention to the trashcans and lining up her shot. _

"_McDermott, you rotten, lying little bastard!" She called to him angrily. "What did you do? Shoot Benson in the back, you vile piece of garbage?!" _

"_She didn't even see it coming!" McDermott retorted. "She went down so quick it wasn't even fun. How does it feel, Eden? Knowing you hired a man on your team who wound up killing them?" _

"_Did it make you feel like a man, McDermott?" Eden played on a childhood insecurity. "Did taking her life finally make you feel like you were worth something? You spent your whole life listening to your mother tell you how inadequate you are. Did it make you finally feel like a man to shoot the woman who mothered you on the team? Let me tell you something, shooting a woman in the back doesn't make you a man! It makes you a coward!" _

"_Shut up!" His fury was just the opportunity she needed. He shifted to fire at her, but she was ready for him and took her shot first. He fell with a scream of agony as her bullet went right into his chest. _

_His partner's movement to get out of the way was all the opportunity Aidan needed for his shot. When they were assured that all three men behind the trashcans were down, they both refocused on the sedan, where Delaney and O'Toole, the most valuable of their targets remained hidden. _

"_Very impressive, Agent Redding." Delaney called out tauntingly. "You have successfully managed to even the odds in this little gun fight." _

"_Why don't you just give it up, Delaney?" Eden called back to him. "I'll have back up coming at any moment. You should just put down your weapon and surrender." _

"_I have never surrendered in my life, Agent Redding." Delaney replied. "I do not intend to start now, especially since I'll will outnumber you again in just a moment." _

_The bang that erupted from behind the sedan would echo in her nightmares for months to come. Beside her, Aidan's body jerked in shock as the bullet went right through his clavicle, exposed by the bulletproof vest he wore. He fell backwards into the snow. Eden screamed, reaching for him while snow beneath him turned crimson with his blood. He gasped for air that wouldn't come, eyes wide with the reality of his situation. _

"_Aidan!" She cradled his head in her hands. "Stay with me." _

"_You…" He struggled to put the words together. "Stop…him…Eden. Take…him…out." He gurgled the last words as his lungs began to fill with fluid. _

_Tears welled in her eyes as he laying dying before her. There were footsteps crunching in the snow, closing on where she knelt besides Aidan's trembling body. She wasn't even sure how her Beretta wound up back in her hands, but as O'Toole rounded the crate to finish her, she discharged her weapon, releasing a kill shot between his eyes. _

"_Atta…girl." Aidan coughed. "Finish…it." _

_Her cheeks wet with tears, she gripped his hand tightly, murmuring a quick prayer for him as he finally slipped away from her. His body stilled in death and his hazel eyes drifted closed. Gone. _

_It was fury that filled her as she got back to her feet, no longer concerned about the cover the crates provided for her. She stepped out into the open, her Beretta held in front of her with the intent to kill. She was unsurprised to see Delaney had abandoned the sedan and stood waiting for her. _

_Fat, fluffy snowflakes drifted down around them, clinging to their clothing and glittering like diamonds against Eden's red hair. Neither of them moved, they stood facing each other, weapons drawn like two cowboys in an old Western stand off. It was in that moment that fate had linked them as adversaries. Delaney had shot and killed her partner; she had shot and killed his right hand man. Now they were the last two standing, a do or die moment. _

_They both fired their weapons around the same second. Delaney was a hair faster, his bullet embedding itself in the muscle of her left thigh 'causing her bullet to fly over his shoulder, missing it's mark. She collapsed in the snow, her leg giving out beneath her and burning in agony. Her Beretta was knocked loose from her grasp, skidding three feet away from where she fell._

"_An admirable try, Agent Redding." Delaney's voice was taunting as he placed his firearm back in it's holster and reached for the switchblade he preferred. "You've come closer to beating me than any other in law enforcement."_

_Knowing what was coming, Eden struggled on her one good leg and her hands to drag herself to where her gun lay. She would go out fighting, like Clint had taught her, like Aidan had done. She wouldn't just lay where she fell and let him kill her. She could hear his slow footsteps from behind her and knew he was enjoying seeing her struggle. _

_A harsh kick to her gut had her struggling to breathe and landing roughly on her back. Still too far away from her gun for it to be any help. She shrieked as he straddled her, closing one hand around her throat to hold her down, while the other wielded his wicked looking knife. _

"_Do you know how many women and children I've killed, Agent Redding?" Delaney's smile was full of pleasure, as he pressed the tip of his blade against the hollow of her throat. "Hundreds." He answered his rhetorical question, applying pressure to the knife so that it broke through her skin. _

_She hissed and cried out in pain, struggling beneath him. _

"_I've blown up so many buildings where they were trapped inside. Their death was instantaneous and impersonal. Not like yours," He bent down close so that his lips brushed the outer shell of her ear. "You will be the first woman," He carved the knife into her flesh over her collarbone, heading south toward where her heart beat rapidly. "I've ever killed personally. Consider it an honor." _

_Her hand closed over the handle of the stiletto she carried just behind her hip on her gun holster. She freed the weapon from it's protective sheath, whimpering as his knife left a throbbing path over her chest. "Consider this an honor." She hissed, aiming the point of her knife for his face. _

_He shouted in surprise, reeling backwards while blood poured from the jagged path her stiletto had left on his face. Rage blossomed in his as he reaffirmed the grip on his own knife, intending to bring it down on her heart. _

_There was a blast of heat and the humming sound of energy. She cried out in shock as Delaney was flung clear of her and landed several feet away near the sedan. Warmth sticky blood began to ooze over her chest from wound his knife had left and her leg was already beginning to go numb from loss of blood. The edges of her vision blurred as she stared at Delaney. He used his hand to smear the blood off his face, stared hard back at her and then decided flight was the better part of valor. _

_She grimaced and struggling to keep her breathing even as he disappeared. The stiletto slipped limply from her hand and it took her remaining strength just to stay conscious. _

"_Eden!" Pete Wisdom appeared in her line of vision, his expression alarmed and genuine terror was in his voice. "Hang on! I'm going to get you out of here!"_

"_Pete." She murmured faintly, before everything blessedly went black._

* * *

"I lost two good agents that day." Eden concluded her story, locking eyes with Clint across the table. "You would have liked Aidan Gallagher. He reminded me so much of you. Fearless, strong, ready to defend without a moment's hesitation."

"It's not your fault." Clint told her gently. "Eden, your cover had been blown, you were outnumbered. There was no way for you escape. You had no choice but to shoot your way out. You did everything you could."

"If I had spotted the mole sooner, it wouldn't have happened." She dropped her gaze and rubbed her neck uncomfortably. "I wasn't ready to lead a team back then. And my inexperience cost Aidan and Darcy their lives. When I woke up, part of me wished I had died with them or instead of them, the guilt was so bad."

"Your comrades would not have wanted you to feel that way. And from the sound of their bravery in battle they would have entered Valhalla upon leaving this realm." Thor reached over and squeezed her hand gently, his entire palm engulfing her much smaller appendage. "They are at peace now and would not want you to suffer over their passing any longer."

Eden looked up at the Norse God and found comfort in his words. If anyone deserved to spend his afterlife in peace after showing so much courage, it was Aidan Gallagher. She would never forget his sacrifice in the line of duty. She knew deep in her heart that Aidan had gone out the way he would have wanted to, but that hadn't made it any easier on her since she had been responsible for him. Knowing that he was someplace akin to paradise after the violence of his death made her feel a little bit better.

"It was Pete who brought me out of that depression." She continued. "He not only saved my life, but helped give me more of a purpose. Colin Delaney is responsible for the death of two of my agents, the dehabilitating injury of another and the scar I bear today. Agent Rourke was shot in the back and as a result wound up paralyzed from the waist down. He'll probably spend the rest of his life in a rehabilitation center. I promised myself, him and Aidan and Darcy that I would bring down Delaney. I don't intend to fail again."

Thor gave her hand an approving pat before removing his. "We will help you defeat this Delaney, Eden and avenge your fallen comrades."

"This son of a bitch deserves to die." Natasha said coldly. "I thought he was bad before, but after this story, if you don't kill him Eden, I will."

"Get in line." Clint shook his head at his girlfriend. "I get first dibs if Eden misses her shot."

"Delaney is mine." Eden's tone of voice chilled by several degrees. "I will end him, as surely as he would have ended me a year ago. I threw myself into profiling him when I was able to get back to work. I know him better than I've known another human being. I'm ready for him this time. I'm doing this for them, and I'm doing this for me. Delaney is going down."

"You're going to get your chance soon." Tony informed her. "Bruce and I are on the brink of finding his location. We should have it by the end of today."

"Tony came up with a theory that I think might actually work." Bruce nodded in agreement. "Thanks to Steve's knowledge of HYDRA we were able to put it together a lot faster."

"After hearing that, I'm even more determined to find this asshole." Tony stood up. "Bruce, let's get to work."

Banner set aside his breakfast and rose, following Tony out of the room toward the lab.

Natasha muttered something about wanting to train, which prompted Clint and Thor to join her. Clint agreeing that he could use some target practice and the resident God of Thunder was never satisfied sitting idle for long. Eden was surprised to find herself so quickly left alone with Steve, a situation that kept occurring more often than not.

"My best friend Bucky got killed on a mission with me back in the forties." Steve was the first to speak. "We were on a train in the Alps, trying to apprehend Dr. Zola, when one of the weapons blasted through the side of the train. Bucky wound up clinging to the edge, and I tried to reach him, but the metal bar he held onto broke off and he wound up falling to his death."

Eden gasped in surprised horror. "Oh God! I'm so sorry."

"One minute he's there, cracking a joke using a line I said all the time when I was getting beat up as a kid and he saved me. The next, he was just gone." Steve's expression was pained. "I know what you're feeling because I was the leader then. I was responsible for him, my best friend and he died on my watch. I couldn't save him, I could only watch him fall. I would have given anything to trade places with him."

"We can't bring them back though and we can't take their place." He continued, looking at her with eyes full of regret. "The only comfort I find is knowing that Bucky is in Valhalla now, with your two agents. And, if I gave up and felt sorry for myself, he would kick my ass. He was determined to bring HYDRA down back then and he gave his life to do it. That's a large reason why I keep fighting, so that those who died didn't die in vain. This Aidan would want you to beat Delaney. He wouldn't want you to feel guilty over him."

"His last words to me were to finish it." Eden said quietly. "So I will."


	7. Pursue or Not?

Chapter Seven:

_S.H.I.E.L.D. Central, New York City, New York_

She struggled with her need to see Pete. Whenever she thought about the night Aidan was killed and Delaney marked her, she turned to Pete Wisdom for comfort. Pete had been there. Pete had known Aidan. Pete had known the girl who's innocence was irrevocably lost that night. As she lay bleeding in the snow, struggling to stay alive, she had changed forever. Pete had been witness to all of it.

And now he too was gone. She had been too blind to see the true feelings Pete harbored for her, caught up in her own pain and agenda. Pete had been a nuisance, a confidant, a comfort and a lover to her, and he had been falling for her the entire time without her knowing. It should have just been sex, a little heat to warm both of them at night, but it had been more for him. She had never hurt a man that way before, always pulling away before it could get that far. She didn't see the signs with Pete and now it was too late. And when she needed his friendship, it wasn't there for her to lean on anymore.

So instead, she sat alone in the courtyard, staring up large marble wall that had been erected as a memorial for the fallen. Every year, an agent who died in the line of duty had their name engraved along with the date of their passing. Derek Khanata, the handler of Carmilla, had his name engraved most recently, the date of his passing about eight months ago. She hadn't even known Derek was dead until yesterday. She had been so cut off from the world in her pursuit of Delaney, that the only things her world revolved around were Delaney, Wisdom and her grief over Aidan and Darcy.

"There's always casualties in war." The deep, booming voice of Thor disturbed the quiet of the moment. "I have seen many a comrade fall in my time. It's never easy, but it the price we pay for freedom."

"Casualties." Eden repeated the word bitterly, not looking at the handsome blonde Demigod who took a seat on the stone bench beside her. "It just sounds so…casual."

He nodded in solemn agreement. "The word does not do justice for the fallen, especially not when you carry the anger for the lost."

"Does it ever go away?" She asked him timidly, like a toddler asked if the monsters under the bed were real.

"The anger fades." He said gently. "In time. You'll no longer feel guilt for a failure that was never yours in the first place. If you could have prevented his death Eden, you would have. The Gods did not will it therefore he was lost and his soul found it's rightful place in Valhalla."

"What's Valhalla like, Thor? Did he really find peace there?"

"Valhalla is a great hall. It is where my father rules. The bravest souls who die in combat wind up there. Souls like your partner, who faced death without fear. His death was honorable, therefore he would receive the highest reward for his bravery." Thor explained with a wistful smile on his face. In his mind he was in Asgard. "The hall is majestic and pure, full of light and magic. He will not want for anything, for in Valhalla you are given the highest comforts; warmth, luxury, food that tastes like ambrosia and you will never feel the pang of loneliness again."

"Sounds like heaven." Eden could picture him there. Aidan, dressed in comfortable linen clothing, sitting at a long table full of the finest food, laughing his rich, musical laugh and he had an arm around the prettiest Goddess he could charm. No pain, no suffering. Just happiness and peace.

"He earned it." Thor was smiling at her, cerulean eyes looking deep into hers and she realized that what she had envisioned was not the product of her imagination but a brief glimpse of her friend in the afterlife as a gift from a God.

She gaped at him, speechless and felt her eyes well for umpteenth time. Aidan was not cursing her in some dark hell and mourning his life, he was exuberant and content in his surroundings. "Thank you." She breathed.

"Do not take on so." He squeezed her forearm affectionately. "You are my comrade now, Eden. I do not like to see you in pain. Do not pity the fallen, pity the living who have been left behind. You will do right by him in the end when you vanquish the man who took his life."

"With a God on my side, I don't see how I can lose." She gave into the urge and hugged him tightly. 'I won't forget the gift you just gave me. I can never thank you enough."

He awkwardly returned her embrace and chuckled. "I forget sometimes how free you mortals are with displays of affection."

She pulled back from him and grinned. "Did I make you uncomfortable?"

"No, Eden, you did not." His eyes sparkled with mirth. "Though I do not think my fair Jane, nor Captain Rogers would feel the same."

"Captain Rogers?" Eden repeated, thoroughly baffled by the mention of Steve in regards to his feelings about her hugging the Asgardian native. "Why would he care?"

"Captain Rogers wishes to become a seeker of your affections." Thor said as though it were a common fact. "Surely you must see the way he looks at you when you are in the same room."

"Thor," She struggled to keep her expression from betraying her amusement. "Did Jane hit you with her car again?"

"No!" The God of Thunder looked utterly perplexed by her line of questioning. "What does Captain Rogers affections for you have to do with Jane striking me with her vehicle?"

Eden couldn't help it. Maybe it was the absurdity of the idea that a man as good and wonderful as Steve Rogers could be interested in a clearly messed up agent with a lot of emotional baggage, or the childlike confusion on the face of a God. But she found herself laughing heartedly, feeling some of her earlier depression begin to bleed out of her system as Thor continued to question what was so amusing.

* * *

_In the Lab, S.H.I.E.L.D. Central_

While Eden was laughing at Thor's antics and the idea of Steve Rogers developing any kind of feelings toward her, the man in question was in the lab with Tony and Bruce, staring at the three maps they had put together. The map on the far right, depicting Europe in 1943, marked with HYDRA locations was so achingly familiar he could picture himself back at base with Colonel Phillips barking orders, Peggy studying the map and the Howling Commandos cracking jokes about the previous mission.

Instead, it was Tony muttering a string of profanities in his frustration as another mathematical equation didn't pan out. Bruce was in front of the world map, moving markers with his laser pen at Tony's instruction and offering suggestions in his mild manner. What they were doing was way over Steve's head, but at least being in the lab made him feel less useless as they tried yet another equation.

"No damn it! That moves the base to Cleveland!" Tony snarled, tugging on his hair irritably. "That's it! Five minute break, or I'm going to start blasting things."

Bruce hid his grin behind a discreet cough. "Need coffee or something?"

"No." Tony shook his head, glancing at Steve out of the corner of his eyes. "What I need is to think about something else for a minute and Captain Frost here has come in at the right time."

Steve glanced over at the billionaire sharply. He was not in the mood to become a source of Tony Stark's amusement. He had wanted to come check on the progress of their mission, not become the butt of some ill conceived joke.

Tony leaned one hip against the edge of the table and smirked at his teammate. "So?" He began pleasantly. "Eden Redding."

Bruce blinked in confusion, looking back and forth between Tony and Steve. "Uh…what does Agent Redding have to do with anything?"

"Well considering everything in this mission basically revolves around her, she has to do with a lot of things." Tony answered him flippantly. "However, I'm more curious about a more personal development."

"What are you talking about?" Steve questioned him tonelessly, his expression becoming impassive.

"I'm not stupid." Tony said, folding his arms over his chest. "All tests proved I was a genius a long time ago. And my incredibly honed observational skills are telling me that you," He directed at Steve. "Are starting to show some interest in Eden Redding."

Bruce turned to stare at Steve with open curiosity on his face. "Wait," He said. "Really? You like her?"

"Well of course I like her." Steve replied, shifting uncomfortably. "She's a member of this team and she's a nice a person. What's not to like?"

"She's also incredibly attractive." Tony chuckled. "Don't tell me that didn't escape your notice, or I'll have to call you a liar."

"Yes, okay, she's a beautiful woman." Steve admitted with a grunt. "What does that have to do with anything?"

"Let me tell you something, Steve," Tony was grinning broadly now. "You don't call a woman beautiful just to state a fact. You'll call them attractive, hot, sexy, pretty, something without a personal touch to it. When you call a woman beautiful, that means you have more than a passing interest in her. I think you want to become her suitor."

"Suitor?" Bruce repeated, looking at Tony incredulously.

"Forties lingo." Stark clarified.

"I…" Steve was humiliated to feel his face grow hot. "I found the woman for me a long time ago. It was just too late. Now Peggy's gone."

"Hate to break it to you, Capsicle, but she's been gone. And I don't mean that in the 'she's dead and buried' way. She was gone long before she died." Tony shook his head. "She mourned you I'm sure. She got married two years after your disappearance. But she still found someone else, had children and lived her life. She forgot about you, Steve. Which means you're allowed to move on from her. It's not like she's here to stop you anyway. And even if she was, she'd be about ninety something years old and that's just plain gross."

Bruce made noncommittal grunt before speaking. "Look," He glanced over at Steve. "In our line of work, maintaining a relationship with someone is very difficult. Even before I became what I am, I took my own relationship for granted. I love Betty more than I have ever loved anyone, but I thought there would be more time, time where I could marry her, have a life with her. Then one experiment gone wrong and I became the Hulk. I still love her, so much it hurts, but until I can control what I am, I can't put her at risk. Now I have all these regrets regarding her and trust me, that's something you don't want."

"Basically, he's telling you to go for it before something happens on a mission and you don't get the chance to be with her." Tony smirked. "I can add my own personal experience for you too. I almost died before I realized just how much Pepper meant to me. You took your time the first time around when you loved Peggy, don't be so slow when it comes to Eden. 'Cause a girl like that will have no problem finding herself a man if you drag your feet."

Steve sighed in resignation and shrugged his shoulders. "I don't even know how to court a woman of this century. Everything is so different."

"Well," Tony's smirk broadened and he took a step forward. "As a former playboy, allow me to enlighten you…"

"No." Bruce shook his head, cutting Tony off before he could continue. "You're already doing fine on your own." He told Steve. "That kid has had a lot on her plate. The last thing she needs is him coming across as an arrogant playboy. Just be yourself Steve, but speed the process up a little bit."

"Look Steve, you've got two options. You can either step up to the plate and pursue, or you can spend the rest of your life pining over what could have been." Tony said. "Your call."

Steve glanced between the two men uncertainly before shrugging. "I guess, I'm going to choose to pursue."

* * *

_Eden's Quarters, S.H.I.E.L.D. Central_

Eden returned to her quarters just as her cell phone began to ring and buzz in her pocket. She pulled the noisy device out and frowned curiously when she didn't recognize the number. "SSA Eden Redding."

"It's Luke Cage." A deep gruff voice greeted her on the other line. "I've managed to dig up some information you might be interested in."

Eden's eyes widened in surprise and she checked her watch. "Where can I meet you?"

"There's a café at 201 West on 83rd street." He answered. "Meet me there in one hour."

"I'll be there." She promised.

"Right. See you." He said before hanging up.

Eden bit the corner of her lower lip and stared at her phone with a mix of surprise and hope. If Luke had found information that would bring her closer to Delaney, then she was one step closer to putting this whole thing behind her. Not having time to waste, she shoved her phone back into her pocket and spun on her heel to head back out into the hallway.

She nearly collided with Steve in her rush to go. "Oh!" She exclaimed in surprise. "Sorry!"

"No, please, it was my fault." Steve shook his head, dismissing her apology. "You didn't see me there since your back was to me while you were on the phone. Are you going somewhere?"

Eden hesitated. She was so used to working most of this case alone, but after Tony had busted her meeting with Delaney, she knew leaving her team out of this was not a good idea. They were choosing to stand by her and help her defeat Delaney. The least she could do was be honest.

"Yes." She forced a smile. "A friend of mine put me in contact with this guy Luke Cage. He always has an ear to the ground on a lot of the criminal activity in the city. So I asked him to do some digging on where Delaney could be holing up. He just called me, told me he had some information I might be interested in and wanted me to meet him at this café downtown."

"Oh." Steve's eyes narrowed. "Are you going alone?"

"That was the plan until I remembered that we're all a team now." She admitted sheepishly. "I don't think Luke would mind if I brought someone with me. I could take Clint so you guys don't feel…"

"I'll go with you." Steve volunteered, cutting her off. "I'm the team leader. I should go with you. And, this time I can watch your back."

"Well okay then." She stepped out into the hall with him, closing her door behind her. "Let's go."

"We can take my bike." He offered, extending his arm to allow her to lead the way.

"Parking might be a nightmare." She warned.

"We'll manage."

* * *

_Downtown New York City, New York_

Eden strolled down the busy sidewalk pressed close to Steve to keep from losing him in the crowd. Every so often, the leather of her jacket would brush the denim of his. When they reached more crowded areas, his hand would linger on the small of her back, a chivalrous notion to guide her no doubt, but she couldn't help but enjoy the contact.

"This is it up here." Eden pointed to the semi busy café up ahead. "The Smiling Dog, huh, charming."

"Are we going in or sitting outside?" Steve asked, referring to the small iron tables set up outside the entrance.

"We'll go in." She replied. "I have a feeling Luke will want a little more seclusion before he tells us anything."

"Okay." Steve nodded in agreement, pulling open the door and holding it for her to enter first. "Why don't you pick a table and I'll get us some coffee."

"Good idea." She agreed. "Make us blend in a little more at least. I take mine with cream and sugar, nothing fancy." She said, before striding over to an empty table tucked in the back corner, facing the entrance.

Moments later, Steve joined her, carrying two steaming Styrofoam cups of coffee. He set one down in front of her before pulling a chair around so that he now sat beside her, also facing the entrance. "You see him?"

Eden slowly shook her head. "Not yet. But he'll be here. If Pete trusts him, then so do I."

"Pete's your…friend overseas right? The one who sent you the message about the explosives?" Steve clarified, a thoughtful frown on his handsome face.

"Yeah, though our friendship's…" She paused, trying to think of the right word. "Complicated."

"How so?" He asked curiously.

"We're on opposing sides, for one." Eden began to explain. "He's not a good guy. Well, he is but he's not. He works for a criminal organization over in Britain. He's an enforcer, and in some cases an assassin."

"He's a murderer?" Steve looked incredulously at her.

"Hitman." She corrected. "Look, the people he has killed, they'ew not innocent. The world's actually a better place without them. I'm not saying that makes what he does okay, but I accepted that part of him a long time ago, even though I know he's cut out for more than just the Black Air."

"That would make a friendship complicated." Steve nodded in agreement.

"Among other things." Eden chuckled dryly. "I couldn't stand him when we first met. I had the same reaction you had when I found out who he was and what he did. That and he was arrogant, impulsive and a little shallow, at first. He seemed to pop up whenever I least expected him and dogged my footsteps when tracking Delaney. He's saved my life a few times, not just the night Aidan died."

"I suppose I can't look down on him for that." Steve hesitantly placed his hand over hers. "Cause I'm glad you're here. You're one of the few people on this team that I'm comfortable with."

"Same here." She smiled at him. "Which is why I can tell you all this, there's not many people I would chose to discuss Pete with."

"You care about him very much." Steve surmised. "I can see it in your face."

"He's important to me." She nodded. "When I was spiraling into depression after Aidan died, he pulled me out it. And against my better judgment, I took him as lover."

His hand stiffened over hers in surprise.

"We're not together like that anymore." She continued, staring down into her beverage. "One because I'm here in the States and two because it means more to him than it does to me. He's needs time and space to get over me and move on. I can't love him back like he deserves especially when we're on opposite sides. But, I'll always have a spot for him in my heart and I'm going to hope he makes more of his life."

"You're an admirable woman." He complimented her.

"I'm not." She shook her head with a soft laugh. "But thanks for saying it. I'm no different than anyone else, besides a vendetta against a terrorist serial killer."

He opened his mouth to reply, when she suddenly straightened in her chair. "Mr. Cage."

Steve looked up to see a large mass of a man, with a neatly trimmed goatee and shaved scalp. He lowered himself into the chair opposite them, eying Steve speculatively. "You didn't tell me you were bringing company." He said to Eden pointedly.

"This is Steve Rogers, he's a member of my team." Eden looked back at him evenly. "I asked him to accompany me since I've let my whole team in on all the details."

Though he didn't look very happy about it, Luke Cage nodded his assent. "All right."

"You said you had information for me." Eden directed him right to the point. "This is crucial. I no longer have Wisdom aiding me on this."

"Yeah, he mentioned it." Luke grunted, glancing down at Steve's hand that covered hers and suddenly understood why Pete had asked him to look out for her. "He wants me to help you from now on. Until you two sort your shit out anyway."

"I don't appreciate that kind of language being used in front of a lady." Steve said politely, but the undercurrent in his voice was firm.

Luke locked eyes with the man across from him, poised to challenge. There was tension at the table, two alpha males sizing each other up.

"Your information?" Eden cut in, her voice warning both of them that she was no in the mood for a pissing contest.

"I talk to some old friends of mine." Luke turned his attention back to the auburn haired woman. "Rumor has it that a man fitting Delaney's description has been seen around the Bronx neighborhoods."

"The Bronx?" Eden repeated, eyes flashing. "Are you sure?"

"I'm ninety-five percent positive. You don't see that kind of facial scar on many people." Luke cracked his knuckles. "I did my research on Delaney after you left the other day. Sounds like he's one bad Dude. I hope you either make him rot in prison or kill him. If there's anything I can do to help, I'm in. We have enough animals running around New York City."

"I really appreciate this." She said gratefully. "I know you're doing it as a favor to Pete, but I won't forget how much help you've been. And if there's anything I can do to return the favor…"

"Stop this guy." Luke shook his head. "That'll be enough." He reached inside his jacket for an inside pocket and pulled out a small white envelop. He slid it across the table and into Eden's hand. "I wrote down all the addresses he was spotted loitering in. Hopefully your guys can narrow it down from there.'

"They've already made plenty of progress." Steve replied. "I'm sure this will help them finally locate him. After all, between Dr. Banner and Tony Stark-"

"Tony Stark?" Luke repeated, the expression on his face looking incredulously. "You guys have Tony Stark working for you? Why the hell do need me for then?"

Eden laughed lightly. "He's a genius, Mr. Cage. But he doesn't have your connections. I'm sure all this reconnaissance you've done for us will impress him."

"Well I'll be damned." Luke chuckled. "Impressing Tony Stark, who would've thought."

* * *

_S.H.I.E.L.D Central, New York City, New York_

"So what's with the looks?" Natasha asked Eden later that evening. The two agents were once again in the kitchen area, sharing Ben and Jerry's ice cream only this time Maria Hill had decided to join them.

"What looks?" Maria lifted one manicured brow curiously. "You're giving looks?" She asked Eden.

"Apparently." Eden shot her an amused smile before looking back at Natasha. "Explain the looks?"

"The one's you keep giving Steve Rogers." Natasha gave Eden a point looked.

"Captain America?" Maria began to smirk. "You have the hots for Captain America?"

"She gave him bedroom eyes when he wasn't looking during the briefing earlier." Natasha informed her.

"Damn." Maria chuckled. "Can't fault her. Eden's always had great taste. He's pretty sexy in an old fashioned kind of way."

"Did you see the British guy on the hologram file that was sent to her." Natasha snorted. "She was with him too. Now that was a pretty sexy man."

"Hello?" Eden waved a hand in front of their faces. "Still sitting right here!"

"Spill?" Maria leaned forward eagerly. "My own love life sucks, let me live vicariously through you."

"I have no love life." Eden told them. "I ended my affair with Pete and there is nothing going on with Steve and me."

Natasha snorted and rolled her eyes. "Yeah right, you sound just like me when I first came to S.H.I.E.L.D. I'm a trained observer, Eden and I've seen the looks you give each other. There is definitely something there."

"Come on, Eden, it's just us girls here." Maria prodded. "Do you like him?"

"What's not to like? Steve is kind, polite and a good leader." Eden shrugged, spooning up another bite of Phish Food.

"So's Bruce Banner, but you're not giving him bedroom eyes." Natasha retorted.

"Why are you of all people so interested?" Eden asked the Black Widow. "Aren't you supposed to be this cold, heartless Soviet Spy?"

"You guys bring the sappy out of me." Natasha rolled her eyes. "Now quit dodging, Redding."

"Come on, Eden." Maria said. "You have to at least find him attractive. You do have eyes in your head."

"Yes, he's attractive." Eden admitted. "He's actually gorgeous if you want my honest opinion. And he's sweet too. But what the hell would a guy as great as him want with a messed up freak like me? I have more emotional baggage than even you, Natasha, no offense."

"None taken." The Black Widow replied. "But you're not a freak. I've seen many freaks in my time. You're not one."

"Give yourself some credit. You're young, you're hot, you're a kick ass agent and you're insanely loyal." Maria reminded her. "All good qualities. Plus, you have a really good head on your shoulders."

"He's already infatuated." Natasha added. "He watches you all the time, especially when you're not looking."

"He does?"

"Yes." She nodded. "So are you going to finally admit you're interested?"

"Things with Pete-" Eden shook her head. "They just, just ended. And I have this whole thing with Delaney going on. I don't have time to address my love life."

"Love happens when you least expect it and aren't ready for it." Natasha told her knowingly. "You can try to fight it, Eden but it'll just grow. If you're interested in Steve, I think you should go for it."

"Me too." Maria added. "Don't you think you deserve a good guy for a change? Not some casual fling that doesn't involve your heart?"

Eden didn't respond. Her mind drifted to Pete, and while she cared for him very much, she had always kept him at arm's length, not wanting to get hurt herself and she wound up hurting him. And even though things with Steve were already different, she was a bit more open with him so soon after meeting him, was she really ready to finally let herself fall in love?

* * *

**A/N: Sorry this took so long guys. I had some serious writer's block to work through, plus things at work were hectic. I hope you had a wonderful Holiday Season and made some New Year's Resolutions. Mine's to work harder on my writing. So stay tuned!**


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